


Smoke and Mirrors

by Knives_and_Agony



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: AFAB reader - Freeform, Abusive Relationships, Blood Kink, Breakup, Gen, Knife play bdsm, Multi, Porn With Plot, Psychological Thriller, Skippable Smut, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-01-31 16:47:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12686088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knives_and_Agony/pseuds/Knives_and_Agony
Summary: When you sell your soul to a demon, your luck improves drastically over the course of a few months. However what will happen as time goes on?





	1. Be Careful Making Wishes in the Dark, dark

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to say that I was inspired by this really realistic set of nightmares I had in October (around my birthday), and I was encouraged by a friend to write this out so I could have a creative outlet.

It had been in your top ten bad days in your life. From being dragged for lunch to a mediocre at best restaurant in a remote location, to seeing the giant moth at the Denny’s while you were eating dinner, you had had enough of this shitty, shitty day. There were other factors that had made the day terrible like the fact you were away from home and that your cellphone lost its power on the way to your grandparents’ house, but that moth had taken the cake.

Normally moths didn’t scare you, but normally moths aren’t the size of your face, and they definitely didn’t land onto your face like that grey one did. Plus you had already been frazzled before that, and this was the last straw. 

When you got to your grandparents’ home, you were still recovering from the panic attack the insect had given you as you used your recently, fully charged cellphone to call your mom so you could vent to ~~someone~~ anyone. You waited for your mom to answer her phone as you heard her ringtone.

 _”Y/N? Is everything fine?”_ , you heard the concern in your mom’s voice and you told her everything through a second round of tears, including the fact you probably wouldn’t be able to come home until the day of your birthday.

”Mom, it’s so bad here that I’d sell my soul to Wilford Warfstache, if it meant I’d come home before my birthday.” You weren’t sure if you meant it or not, but as soon as the words left your mouth, it felt as if someone else was in the same room as you. You felt yourself shiver involuntarily.

“Honey, you shouldn’t have gone up there until your car was fixed,” your mom’s words stung, but you knew she was right, and if you tried to explain the fact you mainly traveled to your grandparents’ house to get your hair professionally dyed at a salon, she wouldn’t have understood. Even though your mom was the parent you were closest too, there were things she’d refuse to understand like social issues involving gender identity. At least, she understood why homophobia was bad.

You yawned loudly as you replied, “Mom, I’m tired and need to sleep. Night!” 

You quickly completed your nightly routine, and fell asleep on a mattress that hadn’t been replaced in decades. It was definitely going to be a **_cold, dark, night_.**

  


You sat on a black couch in what seemed to be a very dark-grey room. You touched the leather arm of the couch, and it felt like it was as real as one you touched when you went furniture shopping with one of your friends. You stopped the action and decided to examine the room.

You noticed that you were sitting in what seemed to be a businessman’s office, and the couch was placed besides the door. It was really well decorated, but two things were odd about the room: firstly, there wasn’t anything electronic in the room besides a vintage telephone, and secondly, everything in that room, besides you, was grayscale.

 _’What the fuck is going on with this dream?’_ , was the only cohesive thought running through your head, when suddenly a light turned on, exposing more of the grayscale color scheme of this room. Fear ran through the blood in your veins and you couldn’t move from your seat on the couch.

_Please be just a nightmare. Let me wake up. I know I must be dreaming._

The door knob rattled like someone else was trying to enter the room. You closed your eyes and heard the door open as well as someone walk into the room. Were your ears actually ringing? Or was it just the fear getting to you? You heard a deep chuckle before someone with a baritone voice calmly said, **”I’m sorry for frightening you, Mx. Y/N L/N.You don’t have to have your eyes closed. I promise.”**

Something about that voice seemed familiar, and you opened your eyes.

The room was still greyscale, but behind the desk sat someone you definitely recognized from a few YouTube videos. It was someone that you knew didn’t exist outside of those videos: **Darkiplier**.

He was a different greyscale than the room, like he looked like he came from a silver mirror’s reflection. In your minds’ eye, you could see his blue and red aura. It was surreal to look at him, and it was hard for you to see him properly without squinting. Darkiplier’s presence definitely left you feeling unsettled, and to be honest with yourself, a little bit frightened.

 **”I suppose you must be wondering why you’re here, and how I know your name, Y/N,”** he paused a moment before continuing, **”To answer the first question, I overheard you offering your soul to a _certain_ colleague of mine, and I know that I could get you a better bargain than he could ever give you. Now to answer the second, it’s a talent that I have, and I could _easily_ tell you about your relationship with your family, friends, and anyone you know about.”**

You felt self conscious, but you managed enough courage to say something, “So you’re going to get me a way back home before Saturday, if I give you my soul?”

He shook his head, before he firmly answered, **”Y/N, it’d be an insult to your own soul’s worth, and _my talents_ , if I gave you something that I could do without lifting a finger.”** His tone shifted to something that sounded more gentle, **”Consider it a free trial. If _something_ happens tomorrow that allows you to leave Friday, then we can negotiate the terms of your soul exchange.”**

You nodded, though you yawned right after you did.

 **”You can go back to your usual dreaming, Y/N. Just remember the free trial,”** and with that you fell deeper into sleep, letting the greyscale drift away. Tomorrow was definitely going to be interesting, or at the very least, disappointing. 


	2. The (un)Forsaken Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for enjoying this; it’s been a real pleasure to write this and I can only hope you’ll enjoy the direction the plot is going to take.

**_”Back to the street where we began, feeling as good as lovers can you know..”_ **

You woke up to the sound of your cellphone’s alarm ringing. You had been meaning to change the alarm song for awhile, but Panic at the Disco’s _”Nine in the Afternoon”_ never failed to wake you up on time.

Suddenly, the revelation of last night’s hyper realistic nightmare hit you like a ton of bricks. What had you just gotten yourself into? There was no way that Darkiplier could be real; right? But if he was real, then could he really be trusted with any promises? And what would happen to your soul if he decided to sell it for a corn chip or something just as stupid?

The chorus of the song filled the room as it pulled you back to the moment. You made your mind up to turn the alarm off, pick today’s outfit, and to do your morning routine.

You were going to focus on the present moment and not on Darkiplier’s free trial, especially because it was probably only a dream. Besides you had real things to worry about like figuring out what color you wanted to dye your hair, or if you were going to get a job to supplement your freelance video editing. _Especially_ if you wanted to at least see your idols at PAX East, but that dream seemed damn near impossible.

_Unless..._ No, you were not going to sell your soul for an event that would be over in less than a week. If you were going to sell it, it should be for something that would last much, much longer than that, and it should be...

You stopped mid-thought to look at your reflection. Did you put on your clothes, and finish your makeup while your brain went on autopilot? _Whatever_ , you looked good, and you could definitely get breakfast in the kitchen.

You hurried to the kitchen to make yourself a cup of tea. You picked a mug, and your favorite tea blend. You quickly made it to your preferences and you savored the moment.

You noticed you were alone, so you took your time to enjoy your solitude. Even though you weren’t a morning person, you definitely enjoyed peace away from your family. You could sense their disappointment every time you did something that was remotely unconventional, and over the years you had mentally isolated yourself from them. _Blood is thicker than water, indeed_ ; if they had really considered you family, they would have supported you when you needed it. Still, you accepted your role as the family’s black sheep years ago, and you wouldn’t have had it any other way because it was a strong part of your identity.

_”Pumpkin, you’re up early. Do you want something to eat with your tea?”_

You recognized the voice as your grandmother’s. So much for solitude in silence, but you knew she’d expect an answer promptly, “Sure, Grandma. I’d like a hot breakfast, if that’s not too much work.”

”It’s not that much of a bother, besides it’d give us a chance to talk about important things that involve you becoming more of an adult,” her voice had an undertone that you knew all too well. It was slight disapproval and her wanting to mold you into a completely different person than who you were.

”Sure, Grandma.”

You hated yourself for being so fake. In a perfect world, you’d be honest around your family, but time and time again, whenever you were honest, your family didn’t believe you. Being polite to people you knew despised the true you was the worst.

“When I was around your age, I was married to your grandpa, and this is around the age where your father met your mother. You could meet the _one_ this year, and—“ She was cut off abruptly by the sound of her cellphone’s ringtone.

Saved by the bell, you could definitely ignore what she was going to say and enjoy your tea. You didn’t want to get married, especially since you were turning 22 in less than a week. Getting married at 22 would be like leaving the party at 8. There was so much to do, so much to see, and you’d rather have a career of freelance work that’d you enjoyed than being stuck in a marriage that could be falling apart at at the seams.

_”Y/N, the event I was going to on Friday has been cancelled. I guess I can drop you off at your house on Friday after all. I’ll make the garlic bagels you like, and something you could make a sandwich with.”_

You felt the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. Maybe it wasn’t just a dream after-all, then maybe you should take advantage of your position and get the most out of your soul’s worth.

You were slightly startled when your grandma handed you the breakfast bagel sandwich she made you. You were definitely going to need some more time to mull over your options, but now you were going to eat breakfast.

The rest of the day was relatively quiet, even though your mind was rushing around so fast you could barely keep up with what was going on, and before you knew it, you were watching your grandparents make spaghetti for dinner.

”Y/N, could you please get a bottle of wine?,” your grandma bit her lip for a moment before continuing, “Like one of the anniversary bottles that someone gave your grandfather and I for our 50th anniversary last year?”

You hurried to grab a bottle of wine, and to place it gently on a counter. You decided to pour some of the wine into the glasses that had been set out. It seemed like a trick of the light, but for a moment, it looked exactly like blood. You gasped a little in shock, but thankfully you didn’t drop the bottle or spill anything.

Besides the wine incident, dinner was quiet. You headed to your room as soon as you could. You had to make a deal with a demon, or at the very least negotiate terms with him.

  


**”I hope you’re satisfied with your free trial, Y/N.”**

You barely noticed the fact you had arrived at the same office space that you were at last night, when you heard Darkiplier’s voice fill the room. Even though it made your ears ring, it was kind of calming to listen too.

”Yes, Darkiplier, your free trial surprised me in the best way, and I’m interested in discussing the terms of selling my soul,” you made sure your voice conveyed the same professionalism that you would use with a client who needed your skills in video editing.

He smirked a bit as he cocked his head to the side, **”As you understand, I strive for a level of timely excellence in my work. Now shall we discuss the heart of the matter?”**

Without missing a beat, you asked, “What is the most you are willing to give me for my soul?”

He chuckled, **”Well that’s to the point. However if you’d let me, I could show you your soul.”**

You thought for a moment before saying, “Yes, I’d like to see it.”

With a snap of his fingers, the room changed from an office space to a black room devoid of anything or anyone besides you and him. You felt a slight sting across your sternum, before you looked down to see your soul floating in front of your chest.

It looked like a stereotypical red heart you’d expect to find in a classroom full of 7 year olds, or like it was from a _certain_ video game that was really popular in 2016. Somehow this newfound knowledge about yourself filled you with ~~determination~~ this feeling that you were out of options and that if you didn’t make up your mind soon, the other one here would probably lose his patience with you.

You looked up at Darkiplier to say, “I’m not selling my soul to look at it. What I want to sell it for is, for something that will last, for something that will take me to my idols, **for something that will make everyone that ever doubted me eat their words.”**

Was it just your imagination, or did your voice sound unnaturally distorted when it echoed around the room? _Whatever_ , you still needed to specify what you wanted.

”I would like to sell my soul for more self-discipline so I can maintain success to prove to my family that they are wrong about my freelance work as a video editor.”

You hoped that he actually would believe your honesty. You didn’t know what you’d do if he decided to decline to take your soul. Yet, here you were standing in front of Darkiplier, and hoping you didn’t land a critical fail.

He walked closer to you before he spoke, **”You know what, Y/N. I really appreciate the fact that you’ve thought about this offer, and you took it seriously. I understand your need to prove your doubters wrong. I am willing to accept the terms you’ve given, but may I add another offer to it?”**

You felt yourself blushing when you heard him say the last sentence. Without a thought, you had said, “Yes.”

He looked into your eyes as he spoke, **”My offer to you, Y/N, is that I’ll give you whatever your heart desires, if you let me _visit_ you every so often. It could be in dreams like these, or something more complex, but I promise I won’t do anything too devious without asking for your permission first.”**

You blushed immensely as you shakily squeaked out, “I accept your additional offer, Darkiplier.”

He kissed your hand before he said, **”The deal is sealed.”**


	3. Some Wait for the Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get extraordinarily luck with your freelance editing job, and you also go dancing on a first date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that’s been reading this, including one of my best friends.

You woke up 5 minutes before your alarm was scheduled to go off. You groaned in exasperation as you turned your alarm off preemptively. Today was going to be the day that you were going to be heading to your hair appointment and you knew you had to be up and ready to go in a set amount of time.

You decided to use your clothing as a form of self expression ~~well more so than usual~~ today. Selling your soul to Darkiplier had released a lot of your inhibitions, including the some that were related to how you presented yourself around your family. You grabbed a pair of ripped jeans, a shirt you knew you knew you looked good in, and a leather jacket that you wore to concerts. You also made up your mind about the colors you were going to have your hair dyed. 

When you were done giving yourself a mini-makeover, you noticed you had received a text message from your best friend: Lili, who you had met at college. You guessed that you must have told her about the initial Darkiplier dream when it was still running through your mind.

_’So what did you sell your soul for?’_

You replied, _’My career basically and he made me another offer that I couldn’t refuse.’_

You got a quick reply from her, _’I’m surprised you didn’t offer your soul to Antisepticeye first lol,’_ and right after that she sent another text, _‘In all seriousness though, Y/N, if I have to rescue your memey ass from hell, you’d know I’d do it because you’re my best friend n.n’_

Lili was definitely someone who you’d ride or die for as well. If you ended up living fairly well in L.A. and she asked for temporary place to stay, you’d give it to her without a second thought. You sent her a Jacksepticeye gif you had sent her before but you knew she’d enjoy it. _Ride or die for life_

The car ride to the salon was quiet but your grandma shot you some dirty looks throughout it. If she was going to talk to you, you knew she’d probably go on that tangent that the phone call cut her off from, and she’d definitely say that you were not dressed to attract a spouse from an upstanding family, especially with your habit of having _crayon_ colored hair. If she knew about Darkiplier _and_ that you sold your soul to him, she’d flip her shit.

When your grandma parked the car, you thanked her for taking you to the salon and got out. You headed into the salon, opened the door, and were greeted with a warm round of “Hello, Y/N!” from all of the cosmetologists.

Your hairdresser waved and guided you to their workstation. _”So what color are we doing today, Y/N? I already know that you want the root touch-up,”_ they smiled and winked. 

”I’d like purple at the roots, and a neon pink on the tips and bangs and I want it to have a gradual blend in between the shades,” you also showed them a reference picture of what you wanted.

They nodded excitedly, “We’ll do those roots first, and then we’ll add the colors. Also I’m loving this new aesthetic you’re rocking.” They already had the bleach equipment and they gently put the salon cape on you. You kept up with their small talk and gossip about your grandma’s snobbery, as they applied the bleach.

”We just have to wait. I’ll check out what neon pinks are available. Would you be okay if the pink glowed under blacklight?” They seemed as excited about being done with the first major part as you were.

You nodded excitedly, and they gave you finger guns as they went to check the stock. It gave you the idea to check your phone for any messages from Lili. You grabbed your purse and got your phone. You had no new text messages, but you did some unread emails.

The majority of those emails were unimportant junk that you could instantly delete and be done with, though there was one email that caught your attention. Its subject was **Inquiry about Video Editing services**. You quickly clicked it.

_’Hello, Y/N L/N,_

_  
_

I was looking for a video editor and I came across your online portfolio. I know it says that you normally do one off projects for people, but would you be okay with regularly editing for my YouTube channel?

Signed, Ethan Nestor

(Is it okay if we’re more chill than this after this email? It took me way too long time to find the right words to say “You’re really awesome at video editing, and your sense of humor is equally fricking amazing.”)

_Also would it be okay if I added you on Discord and Dropbox?’_

The email also included some links to videos from his YouTube channel as well as one unlisted video that was from Crankgameplays. It was him waving and saying, “Hi, Y/N! I’m not scamming you. It’s really me.”

You quickly replied to his email:

_’Hey Ethan, it’s cool. I’m more into chill convos anyway. By the way, you’re also really awesome at making video game commentary! Just let me know when you want me to start.’_

You enclosed a meme in the email as well as your Dropbox and Discord accounts. A couple of minutes later you saw that he sent you a friend request on Discord and a message. You quickly added him.

 _’I got your email and your meme : )‘_

_’also as soon as I get back from visiting my family for my birthday would be a great time for you to start. plus it’d give us time to discuss payment over voice chat :P tour is pretty cool‘_

_’I look forward to working with you could we do the call anytime after Friday? I’m visiting my grandparents until then’_

You sent a gif for an added good measure.

_’Sure!’ and Ethan sent you a meme._

You definitely knew that Darkiplier had been behind the scene somehow, and you knew how you were going to thank him. You had to admit that he was absolutely gorgeous, even though it hurt your eyes to look at him directly. His low voice was like a like a siren’s call underneath the ringing.

You looked up to your reflection in the mirror. You saw your hairdresser heading towards you again. You quickly turned your phone off and put it in your purse. 

”Good news, Y/N, we have the glowing pink hair dye as well as the purple one!! I just need to check your roots.” They quickly checked your roots by separating out the foil to see the color, “We’re ready to wash out the bleach now.”

You were guided to the shampooing sinks. You closed your eyes as the hairdresser washed the bleach from your hair. _Halfway there, just gotta be patient._

As soon as they were done washing the bleach out, they guided you back to their workstation. You zoned out a bit as you saw your own reflection in the mirror, hoping time would pass by faster as you saw them put dye and foil on your hair. _Why was it impossible for you to remember your hairdresser’s name?_ You saw their name on their workstation’s photographs. It was Alex. You made a mental note to try to remember it better next time, but you didn’t count on it. 

Before you knew it, they were washing your hair again, and you wondered if Darkiplier could manipulate time’s passage.

You were sitting at their workstation having your newly christened ombré hair blowdried. You loved the color and it kinda reminded you a little of an aurora borealis. You spoke genuinely, “Thank you, Alex! Your talent is really understated.”

Alex grinned, “Y’know I thought you forgot my name again, but thank you for the compliment.”

You paid for your hair appointment and went home with your silently fuming grandma. She was going to eat the words she had said to you in the past soon. If she came crawling back to you when you were successful, you were going to tell her to fuck off. _No one said you had to show her generosity when she tried molding you into a mini version of herself._

When you got home, you headed to your room to take an afternoon nap and crashed out.

  


You weren’t in the office space again, but this time Dark had chosen a huge rectangular room with a stage. You noticed that most of the room’s perimeter was lined with circular tables that had red tablecloths and comfortable red chairs. The middle of the room was clear and the floor was grey. You looked up at the stage and saw that there was a band of at least 15 people on the stage. Judging by their instruments, you assumed it was a small orchestra.

You felt someone tap your shoulder. You turned around and saw Darkiplier carrying a bouquet of red carnations, a blue rose, a white rose, and a black rose. He was wearing a black and white suit with a grey bowtie. You felt a little underdressed considering the effort that he poured into this encounter.

 **”Hello, Y/N. Would you accept this bouquet?,”** You nodded as he handed you the flowers. He leaned in and whispered, **”Don’t worry about your outfit. It’s a pleasure to have you.”**

You blushed and he chuckled as he guided you to a table. **”Would you like something for dinner, sweetheart?”**

You thought for a moment before you said, ”Yes, though maybe a dessert. It has been way too long since I’ve had it at a restaurant, and before I forget to say it, I just want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

 **”You’re welcome, Y/N. May I say that I’m appreciative that you accepted my secondary offer?,”** he held your hand, as a waiter came by and gave you both dark chocolate ice cream that was covered in a red fruit sauce. **”Shall we, Y/N?”**

You two enjoyed the ice cream, though part of you wondered what was in the sauce. You assumed it was a fruit but there were some bitter undertones in it. You decided to ask, “Hey Dark, what’s in the sauce?” 

**”It’s a pomegranate coulis that has some red wine in it. Is anything wrong, Y/N?”** Concern and something _darker_ seemed to fill his voice as he said the last sentence. 

_Could it be?_ But you swore that for a moment, you thought you saw two of him? _That couldn’t be right: right?_

”No, I’m just used to strawberries, but this is on another level of sophistication. Thank you,” you surprised yourself with how calm you sounded. Grace under pressure wasn’t necessarily a strong suit for you, but you guessed you improved since you’ve done freelance work.

He seemed much more composed, **”I’m sorry for my outburst. May I have this dance, Y/N?”**

He offered you his hand, and looked at you with a warm smile. You took his hand and answered, “Yes.”

With that he guided you to the dance floor, and the orchestra started playing a song you were definitely familiar with: _Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met)_ by Panic at the Disco.

**”Tell me, Y/N, have you ever tangoed?”**

”To be honest, Dark, my ballroom dancing skills are a little rusty, though I can Cha-cha real smooth,” you playfully raised your eyebrows as you said the last sentence, even though you knew it was as cheesy as a quesadilla.

He chuckled before he gently reassured you, **“It’s okay, just follow my lead.”**

He held you close to him and guided your hands to where they were supposed to be. He placed his hand on your waist. His voice gently told you the steps and whispered words of encouragement.

You knew you weren’t an expert at tangoing, but you got the hang of it enough to feel comfortable. You enjoyed being close to him, and from this proximity you could even smell his cologne. It had notes of roses, cedar, and something that smelt metallic, almost like blood or steel. _Neroli?_

**”You’re going to dip.”**

”What?”

 **”I’m going to dip you, sweetheart,”** his voice was low and alluring. He dipped you carefully, making sure you were safe.

 ** _”How does a heart love, if no one has noticed its presence, and where does it go?,”_** he softly sang the words as the orchestra played.

How did this stupidly, sexy asshole get the right to be this smooth? You currently weren’t even wearing clothes that matched his level of sophistication. He had put a lot of effort into this date. _Could you call it that?_ Just his attention to details alone was uncanny.

Yet way too soon, the song was over and you were still in his arms. He whispered in your ear, **”This was a test for _next time_ , Y/N.”**  


With that sentence, you woke up from your nap. Why was he such a damn tease?


	4. Miracle Aligner (Smut)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark surprises you on your birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I snuck in some of the French that I know. It’s not my first language so any help would be much appreciated.  
> Also this is the first time I’ve ever written smut, so I guess I killed two birds with one stone.

The rest of the days before Friday, passed by quickly and were surprisingly calm. You didn’t tell Lili about the job that Ethan had offered you, because you were going to wait until Ethan said something about it publicly. You were planning to send her screenshots confirming it on Twitter, tumblr, or YouTube. You didn’t like keeping secrets from Lili, but sometimes it was a necessary evil, _like selling your soul to Darkiplier..._ so you could live a better life away from your biological family.

Your grandma had given you the cold shoulder, since you went to the salon. You felt really lucky that she was driving you home, even if she did mutter about your lifestyle choices under her breath. You made a mental note to make up a good excuse to not come back for Thanksgiving or the holidays, so you wouldn’t have to deal with her ever again. She could have ruined your birthday, if Darkiplier hadn’t saved your ass.

Speak of the Devil, Darkiplier hadn’t shown up since that nap you had. Part of you wondered what exactly he was up too, but you had been a bit grateful for the normal dreams. You were growing a little impatient; if tango was a test for what he had in store for next time, then he was going to teach you how to ballroom dance professionally, or he was testing your chemistry with him. You had a feeling it was the latter one.

When your grandma parked the car outside your home, you thanked her for driving you there. You opened the car door, grabbed your suitcase from the car trunk, and went home. You smirked as you looked at her car drive away from you.

_Goodbye, bitch, here’s to never seeing her ever again._

”Y/N, how long have you been standing there?”

You looked to your mom and calmly said, “Two good things: I got a permanent editing job I could do from anywhere, and I’m never ever visiting her again. She was pissed at me most of the trip because of my hair.”

As you went inside your home to put your suitcase in your room, your mom walked with you. She asked skeptically, “Even the holidays?”

”Ever since _that thing happened_ , the holidays have sucked. The only good holiday is probably Halloween because I don’t have to worry about people asking me what I’m doing with life, or when I’m getting married. I get free chocolate from strangers. I just want to stay home and work on some video editing for November and December.”

”I know, honey. I’ll talk to your dad about it. I’ll see what I can do,” your mom smiled gently at you, understanding exactly what you meant.

You hugged your mom and tried your hardest not to cry. She meant a lot to you, and it’d been days since you had hugged her. _How many more opportunities would you get to hug her?_ Knowing Darkiplier, he’d probably have you living in L.A, in less than a year.

After you and your mom bonded, the rest of the day was pretty much the way it usually went when you were home. You did your nightly routine and headed to bed, excited for your birthday tomorrow.

  


**”Happy Birthday, Y/N. What would you like to do after dinner?”**

You heard his voice from behind a door. You seemed to be in a huge bedroom that had enough room for a walk-in closet and a canopy bed. Surprisingly, unlike the other places Dark had taken you, everything about the color in the room was perfectly normal. You saw that there were two white bags that’d you’d be given at the dry cleaners. You decided to investigate bags after you answered Dark.

”Dark, I was wondering if we could do something more _intimate_ , than tangoing?”

You blushed deeply at what you had confessed. It was almost as bad as if you were telling a crush that you liked- _liked_ them. _Eww, admitting your feelings to people._

You heard him chuckling a bit from behind the door. **”Of course, Sweetheart, it’s your birthday after all. By the way, the dry cleaning bags have something you can wear to dinner. I decided to let you choose the outfit you felt more comfortable in...”**

You opened the dry cleaning bags; one contained a red dress that looked like it was a vintage inspired cocktail dress as well as a pair of dark colored nylons, and the other had a dark red suit and a black dress shirt. You picked your favorite outfit from the two options. You checked your appearance in a mirror and you already had makeup on that matched the outfit. You put on a pair of black dress shoes before you opened the door to see Darkiplier.

**”Sorry for the delay between visits, Y/N, but I wanted to get this perfect for your 22 nd birthday. So shall we head out?”**

He smiled as he held his hand out to you. He was gorgeous as always but part of wondered what he’d looked like if you wore traditional red and blue 3-D glasses. Would it be easier to look at him directly?

_Focus, Y/N, focus..._

You gently took his hand, and answered him, “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

He led you down a hallway to a staircase. You swore you had seen this place before, but you couldn’t remember where. _Was it a set of a music video or another film?_

He let go of your hand to open the front door for you. 

As you walked through the open door, you said, ”Thank you, Dark.”

**”You’re Welcome, Y/N.”**

You waited for him by a black limo. He locked the front door, before he walked to you. The limo’s doors opened automatically, and Darkiplier escorted you to the car.

The interior of the limousine was extremely fancy, and there were some more of the same flowers that were in the bouquet in it. The floral scent was a little overwhelming and it reminded you of a funeral home.

 **”I may have gone a little overboard with the carnations, and roses this time around,”** he chuckled a bit as he cleared a spot for you two to sit. You sat next to him, and rested your head on his shoulder. You weren’t paying attention as he spoke to the chauffeur, but he held you close to him.

**”I think you’re going to like the restaurant, Y/N. They have the best food in town.”**

~~_Please don’t be Cracker Barrel. We’re dressed nice._ ~~

**”Don’t worry, Y/N. It’s not Cracker Barrel.”**

You moved your head to a more comfortable position, “Thank you.”

He chuckled as he heard you. He kissed your forehead gently, as the limo pulled to the front of the restaurant. The doors opened automatically again and he escorted you out.

Inside of the restaurant, the maître d' stood behind a podium, _“Bonjour, Monsieur Darkiplier et son...?”_

**”C’est mon rancard, Y/N.”**

Darkiplier kissed your forehead again. You decided to say the only thing in French that you could, “Bonjour!”

Darkiplier and you were guided to a booth in the back of the room. The restaurant itself was dimly lit and everything was definitely fancy. When you were seated, you both were handed menus.

 _”What would you two have to drink?”_ The maître d’, asked in a heavy French accent.

”I’ll have a cup of tea.”

**”And I shall have the same.”**

The maître d’ nodded before he headed off to the kitchen. You turned to look at Darkiplier before you asked in a jokingly flirty way, “So do you come here often?”

He laughed before answering, **”I’m a regular here because I know one of the owners of this restaurant. We go back a long time. The maître d’ actually owns this place with the head chef that I know.”**

You nodded before you asked, “Any recommendations on what your friend makes well?”

 **”You can’t really go wrong here, Y/N. If you want to be adventurous, the escargot is similar to shrimp scampi, and it tastes wonderful over bread,”** he winked at you as he said it.

”Y’know what, I’ll have your usual.”

The maître d’ brought your drinks, _”And what would you like to eat?”_

**”We decided that we would be having my _usual_.”**

The maître d’ nodded, taking the notepad with him.

Darkiplier held your hand, and you held his. He whispered, **”So what exactly did you mean, when you asked for something more _intimate_?”**

_Oh, that asshole knew exactly what you meant._

You whispered, trying your best not to blush, “I want you to have sex with me. I need you to bring me to the highest pleasures, and _maybe experiment a little with pain thresholds_ , but maybe we could take it a little bit more vanilla since it’ll be the first time that we’ll have sex.”

He smirked as he replied in a whisper, **”Y/N, I would be more than happy to oblige your requests, but dinner comes before dessert.”**

As if on cue, the maître d’ had brought your food. _Damn, that was fast._ You looked at what was on the plates. You had seen the dish before on a cooking show: **_coq au vin_.**

As soon as you could try your meal, you did. It was pretty good to say the least. You looked to Darkiplier to see his progress, and he was done. _How?_

When the bill was given to you two, he paid. He took you back to the limo, and held you close to him during the drive, placing kisses on your cheek and forehead. You giggled a bit, relishing his affection.

When the limo parks in the driveway, the doors open and Darkiplier carried you across the veranda. A servant opened the door for him, before Darkiplier carried you across the threshold. Before he took you up the stairs, he whispered seductively into your ear, **”Just a little bit longer, Sweetheart.”**

You held onto him as he opened the door to his bedroom. You were impressed by his strength and endurance. Yet, he placed you gently onto his bed. You looked at him as he locked the bedroom door.

He turned to look at you with a smirk, **”Now where were we, Y/N?”**

You blushed but you could your excitement growing, “We were going to celebrate my birthday.”

He moved to sit at the foot of the bed, still smirking, **”Now, how would you like to have your present now?”**

”I’d love to.”

He took his suit’s jacket off, and you hurriedly take off the clothes Darkiplier had given you. You heard him chuckle at your enthusiasm, and you blushed a little, before an idea hit you.

”Oh, Dark, darling, look at me, please.”

You waited until his eyes were on you, before you slowly and sensually took off your underwear for him. You smirked as you stripped for him, knowing that he was probably enjoying the show.

When you had finally taken everything off, Dark brought himself closer to you. He whispered lowly in your ear, **”Let me bring pleasure to you, Y/N”** , before he started kissing your neck.

You moaned as you decided to loosen his tie, and undo the buttons on his shirt. He whispered in between kisses, **”Thank you, Y/N, I’ll take care of the rest.”**

He gradually lowered his kisses from your neck to your sternum, and he moved his right hand to your left thigh. Dark stopped his kisses, before he looked to you, smirked, and asked, **”May I have a bit of dessert before the main course?”**

”You may.”

He lowered his head to just below your bellybutton, and you spread your legs for him. You moaned almost instinctively as he dipped his head, and you ran your hands through his black hair. He teased your clitoris with his tongue, and seemed to be tracing different shapes around and on it. You felt your edge fast approaching.

_”Dark, I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna last.”_

With that he increased his pace, and you felt your orgasm wash over you like a tidal wave. You barely even noticed that Darkiplier had moved to a different spot on the bed.

**” _Don’t blink_ or look away from me, Y/N.”**

You saw Darkiplier standing at the foot of the bed, still wearing the unbuttoned white shirt and the tie that draped around his neck. He took off the loosely clinging tie, and he slowly took the shirt off. You looked at his grey chest and arms, and you felt like you were staring at an old video of a strip tease, rather than at someone who was stripping in front of you. _Why was it so hard to focus on him?_ Like was he really that unsettling gorgeous? Or was there something more significant at play?

_Focus, focus on him._

You looked at him, and he winked at you. You noticed him taking off his pants and underwear simultaneously. After he was done stripping, he got besides you and whispered in a low growl, **”Are you ready for me, Y/N?”**

”Yes.”

You held onto his back, as he aligned himself with you and thrust. You two moaned as you moved with each other, increasing the pace. Sometimes, there were whispers of sweet nothings and you couldn’t tell who had said what. You were pretty sure you had breathily quoted a meme at some point, and Darkiplier didn’t notice. Honestly, you were getting more light headed from the pleasure as you approached your second climax. 

**_”Y/N, I’m almost there.”_ **

_”Same, Dark.”_

You held onto his back as you both came. You both were breathing heavily as you recovered from the physical exertion.

**”We should do this more often, but you should probably get some proper sleep.”**

Before you could say something in protest, everything had faded into thick, ashy smoke, and you fell deeper into sleep.


	5. You were only waiting for this moment to be free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s a bit rushed but the next one is a doozy

It was April 4th, 2018, and for the past 5 and a 1/2 months, you’d been looking forward to this: PAX EAST 2018. You had enjoyed editing for Ethan these past months, and everything was going extraordinarily well on that front, and you were going to meet Ethan in person for the first time today.

You still remember when Lili found out about the fact you were editing for Ethan. She had joked about you selling your soul to Darkiplier _’for like real n.n’_. You weren’t sure about whether Lili actually had believed in what happened in the dreams, but she was the only person you had told about the dreams. You only told her when she asked and even then you left some details out. 

You waited inside your room in the hotel for Ethan to call to meet up in the lobby. You checked your appearance in the full-size body mirror that covered the closet doors. Everything was okay, even though the mirror itself looked off, compared to the one in the bathroom, like it had been bathed in ashes or cinders and seemed a bit warped. You wondered if there had been a fire in the room recently.

Suddenly, your phone rang, pulling you back into reality. You picked up the phone and answered, “Heyo!”

”Hey, Y/N, just calling to let you know we’re all in the lobby. We might all go to Cheers or something after. It’ll be fun to show you Boston.”

Ethan’s voice was full of excitement and enthusiasm and you excitedly replied, “Gimme a second.”

You hurriedly opened and shut the door, taking your purse with you, “And by second, I mean let me get to the elevator, and walk over to you guys.”

”Can you believe it? We’ll be meeting in person in like less than five minutes. Like I’m barely processing it. Wowie!”

”Yeah, it’s actually pretty surreal,” you paused as you stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button to get to the lobby, “like it’s really cool to hang out with you guys before going to my first PAX.”

”Carry a lot of hand sanitizer. Don’t wanna get the PAX Plague.”

The door opened and you saw Ethan waving his arms around to get your attention. You ended the call, ran over to him, and were hugged tightly.

”So, this is Y/N L/N.”

Ethan loosened the hug a bit, and you could see that all of Team Iplier was there. You have had digital conversations with everyone except for Mark for some reason. You waved a little bit nervously, and said, “Yeah, that’s me, Ethan’s editor, the meme in the flesh.”

You smiled a bit when everyone had laughed. You were relieved that you were less awkward than you had expected, and you felt much more relaxed, “Anyway, it’s really nice to meet everyone in person for the first time.”

”You think it’s a good idea to start sightseeing now that we have everyone?,” Kathryn asked and everyone agreed it’d be a good idea.

You enjoyed touring the city with them, and everyone who had recognized you all had been exceptionally nice. You saw a lot of yourself in the strangers, and you wondered what would have happened if they had been placed in similar circumstances. _Would they have sold their souls, or were you really just that—_

Like a dart, you saw a flash of silver pass in front of your vision and you stopped in your tracks to assess your bearings. You knew it wasn’t actually there, but in the months between October 2017 and April 2018, you occasionally saw silver flashes. You had learned that if you weren’t careful, you’d stumble or fall after seeing them.

” Y/N!! Faneuil Hall is right over here!”

”That’s where one of the Cheers replicas is; right?” You had replied to Ethan, a bit more frazzled than you had wanted to sound. The flash definitely made you nervous, and you didn’t want anyone else to notice that you were worried.

”Yeah, but look at the top of the brick building!”

”It has a gold grasshopper for a weathervane.” Amy pointed to it, and you saw it. Though if she hadn’t said it was a grasshopper, you would have sworn that it was a cricket.

You wondered aloud, “Are grasshoppers crickets?” 

”They’re actually in the same insect family, but no.”

Everyone had turned to face Tyler who confessed, “I used my phone to google the question.”

You all walked the short distance to Cheers. ~~Finally, a place where everyone would know _your name_.~~ You thought it was a bit touristy, but you were a guest, and to be honest, you actually enjoyed the environment because you could see other people walking in the past the street from where you sat.

”Y/N, what are you going to get to drink?”

”I haven’t decided, Ethan.” You thought for a moment before continuing, “Y’know what? I’m gonna get a Shirley Temple, since I haven’t had one in like forever.”

The food was pretty good then again you had known that’d it be hard to fuck up spaghetti.

”So after today’s busy day, you think you can handle the excitement of your first PAX?” Mark’s question was warm.

You nodded, “Yeah, I’m gonna try VR while wearing kickass cosplay. It’ll be pretty cool to meet other gaming fans.”

Mark was definitely different than his dark counterpart. For one, he wasn’t trying to impress you as obviously as Darkiplier had. Secondly, when the subway station closest to the aquarium was closed, he just shrugged it off, and suggested something different. You knew from experience that Dark had control issues, and his composed facade would fade instantly the moment that his plans hit the slightest snag. 

Hell, when you told him what you knew about his past from Who Killed Markiplier, he flipped his shit before he explained some things to you from his side of the story. It had been months, but you still had questions he wouldn’t answer about it.

”Hey, Y/N, are you done with your empty plate of spaghetti? Cause I’d totally take your garlic bread off your hands.”

That was _definitely_ Mark. Even though you were a fan of him, you strongly disliked sharing _your_ food with people, unless it was pizza. In a bit of a power move, you hurriedly scarfed down the bread, while looking Mark straight in the eye as if to say, _’my soul may be gone but there’s no price you could offer me that would make me give up my garlic bread’_.

Ethan barely stifled a laugh because he knew that you probably wouldn’t have given it away. He knew you better than a good chunk of the people who knew you. He was definitely one of your best friends.

After you guys finished dinner at Cheers, you guys headed back to the hotel. You had organized 2/3rds of your cosplays before you had headed out because they both had masks that would potentially give you a bit more freedom to blend in. The one you hadn’t organized yet was a cosplay you had perfected since Halloween: A̴n̨tise̷p͟t̵ic̨ey͝e͟. 

Before October 2017, you actually preferred Anti to Dark. If you had a choice in the one you’d sell your soul to, you would have picked him first. Not to say that you didn’t like Darkiplier then, it’s just that before you had formally met each other, you thought that he wasn’t your type: proper with his suit and everything. Your type before meeting him were definitely rebels, in both appearance and ideology, that your conservative family would have immediately rejected just like you.

When you got to your hotel room, you organized all the supplies your Antisepticeye cosplay needed for Friday, including your binder and a short dark brown wig you bought.

_Soon..._

On Thursday, Ethan showed you around the convention buildings while you were dressed up as a ninja. You had gotten to try this VR car racing game and didn’t get motion sick at all. When people asked Ethan who you were, he’d offer different answers though your favorite one was, “That’s Y/N, they’re my editor, body guard, and meme machine.” You also took photos with people who wanted too, which was fun, except for one time you saw a flash of silver, and tripped onto an extraordinarily giant round plushie someone had accidentally left on the ground.

You called out to your friend, ”Ethan, I’m in a sticky situation. I need a bit of help please.”

 _ **”Oh**_ my god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to leave my honey gordo slime plushie there. I was trying to find a way to get it shipped home without any accidents. Are you okay?”

You thought you had recognized the voice of the person who had been helping you up, but with a bit of your vision being obstructed with your cosplay’s masks you weren’t quite sure. You managed a reply, “Yeah, I’m a little shaken, but I’m fine. The ninja mask has some blind spots. I kinda wanted to spend my first PAX as part of the crowd rather than being recognized.”

You heard Ethan hurriedly walk over to you, and whoever owned the honey largo slime plushie. “Y/N, I see you met Jacksepticeye, and I wanted to introduce you to him first.”

If the mask had shown your face, you would have been blushing more visibly than usual. _Holy fucking shitting hell_ , what were the odds? Was everything making it hard to breathe or was it just you?

”Hi, Y/N, I’ve seen some of your work with Ethan. It’s really good.”

You could feel yourself panicking underneath the costume, and you felt tears coming down from your eyes as you confessed the main reason why most of your cosplays had the face obscured, “Please don’t tell my paternal grandparents that I’m here. They’d flip their shit, especially my grandma. I don’t want to be dragged back over there when I’m going to be moving to L.A within this week. I’ve worked too hard for them to take everything away from me again. It’s nice to meet you it’s just that I’m really overwhelmed right now. I probably need a nap.”

Ethan took you back to your hotel room, after your crying spell. He had known beforehand that being in crowds sometimes overwhelmed you, and you had given him instructions on what to do if, or when, in case it happened. He was definitely a good friend you were lucky to have.

You had fallen asleep on the bed, and had woken up at four in the morning. You put on your Antisepticeye cosplay, minus your binder because the fake neck wound you had made had a transparent splash-guard, in the bathroom. You used a travel sized hairspray and fiber-mascara to make a realistic beard. You looked at your reflection in the mirror and it was a bit eerie how you resembled that knife-wielding weirdo.

You opened the bathroom door and saw the closet mirror. You stepped closer to examine it. The surface of the mirror moved like water, inviting you to step inside. You decided to head back to the bathroom and form a game plan, before you were going to do something drastic.


	6. Well, are you afraid of me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This didn’t take as long as I expected.

There were a few things in life you were definitely sure of, and one of those things was that mirrors were solid. Yet, as you sat in the hotel bathroom, you were pondering about what had caused the closet mirror to look like it had been liquified.

 **”Y/N, I want to introduce you to some _colleagues_ of mine. Please don’t be long...though _time_ is not an issue itself...”**

You couldn’t see Darkiplier, but his voice rang through your mind, as if he were standing behind the bathroom door. You decided to carefully put on the binder, and managed to keep your makeup in tact.

If you hadn’t been alone in a hotel room, you would have said something along the lines of, “Ok Dark, I look a bit different than usual FYI.”

You knew he was cool with any way you could have expressed your gender identity, but you knew he disliked being surprised.

You opened the door and you saw Darkiplier standing in the closet’s door’s mirror. You thought you heard him chuckle before he said, **”You’re going to meet him today.”**

”Seriously? I get to see Mr. Gl͠itçh̀ ̧Bit̡ch͏?”

You felt staticky as you had said those two words, and you saw him flinch a little in response, before he composed himself.

Did you actually manage to frighten him a little? _..̢ḱrąD ̷,̛em g͡n͘ir̶ac̵s ̛r҉of ͝k͘cabyap͘ ͢s͠i̷ ͠si̕hT_

Dark’s aura flashed predominantly red, as he worriedly said, **” _Y/N_ , as long as the mirror is its current state, you should be wary of yourself and your surroundings.”**

You slowly walked toward the mirror as you watched his aura return to normal by him simply adjusting his neck. You closed your eyes as you stepped through the mirror, like it was just simply a trust exercise, rather than your first step into a world where people could hurt you; ~~then again people have hurt you in your world too.~~

You felt Dark holding you against him, before you opened your eyes.

**”We should probably get going, Y/N.”**

You knew that you were probably in the same building that had the same dancehall Dark had taken you to before, based on the aesthetic of this room, and the hallway that you followed Dark into. 

**”Wilford doesn’t like visiting my home because it doesn’t resonate with him well.”**

You assumed it reminded Wilford that his friends are gone, _if he even remembered who he was before all that happened_. You knew that sometimes the truth hurt worse than any lies that could mask the trauma, so you couldn’t blame him at all for his qualms about Dark’s mansion.

”So, is there anything you want me to know about who you’re introducing me too? Besides from what I know about Wilford and Antisepticeye.”

**”I’m introducing you to four of my colleagues. You probably know one really well, and I’m surprised that you haven’t mentioned him at all.”**

”Dark, y’know I suck at understanding vague hints.”

Dark opened a heavy wooden door and held it open as you walked through it. You looked at the room and saw that it was like a hotel’s breakfast buffet room. You noticed that one table had four people sitting at it.

”Darkiplier, please introduce us to your paramour.”You heard Wilford Warfstache from where you were standing, and before you knew it Dark had walked you over to the table.

You recognized Wilford, Anti, and Ethan’s evil persona: BlankGameplays. You had spent hours helping Ethan construct and perfect Blank via video editing, though to be honest, the fans aided a lot in his creation.

”Renny?” You heard Blank’s robotic voice speak. Everyone at the table, except Dark, turned to look at you.

”I-I-I helped make him a bit more real. He called me a shortened version of ‘parent’. “

There was silence before you felt a staticky hand on your shoulder, ”Ẃh̡y͜ ͜t̛he͝ fuc̨k ͘d͜o̵ yo͜u̡ ̴looķ lik̸e m͞e̶?̷”

You turned your head and you saw Antisepticeye dangerously wielding a knife with the hand that wasn’t on your shoulder. His eyes were fully black. Before Dark could intervene, you felt a strange power surge through you like electricity. You quickly moved out of the way, and spoke in the best impression of Anti’s voice you could muster, “Imitatio̷n ͘i̕s ͟th̛e ͞hig̛hest ̀for͠m of ̷fl̶a͘t̕ţery,̕ A͜n̷t̢i.”

Anti stopped in his tracks; his eyes were no longer blacked out and you could clearly see that they were two different colors: baby blue, and an almost glowing neon green. He smirked as he said, “A͞lrig͟h҉t͡,͠ ͘fair ̴e̸noug̴h, ̧ Y/N.”

**”Anti, stop messing around with them before you make them glitch more. They shouldn’t be doing that at all. They have a life outside of here and if they keeping glitching out, there’s going to be consequences in their daily life!”**

Every visual aspect of Dark seemed to be splitting apart. His aura seemed to take on two separate forms. You thought you heard someone faintly whisper _’Celine? Damien?’_ , before Dark rushed himself out of the room.

Geez, that reminded you of what happened yesterday, and the meltdown you had at Denny’s in October. You sat down on your chair, and Anti sat next to you in what was Dark’s seat. He was attractive, and he changed like a chameleon as he glitched like a Bethesda game. One instance his ears had more piercings than when you first saw him, and in others, his eyes would change colors. It was so easy to get lost looking at him. You felt like you were distracted from something important.

Wasn’t there supposed to be 4 other people at this table besides you and Dark? Yet still someone felt missing from the equation.

”So, Y/N, how’d ya meet _Darkiplier_?” The alto voice sounded like it came from someone that you had met on Wednesday: Amy Nelson, aka Planet Peebles. Considering how close she and Wilford were, you guessed that she was Peevils, the evil alter ego.

Rather than lie, you decided to simply say, ”Oh, I met Dark when I sold my soul to him.”

There was a collective “What, Y/N?”’s around the table.

”Wh͞y th̕e ̧f͜uck ͠di̛d ͏ýou do ͡i҉t?”

You shrugged and looked down, avoiding any eye contact, “I had to get out of a shitty situation, okay. I’m not exactly in the clear yet, but in a couple of days, I’ll be moving in with a friend and I’ll probably be healthier mentally.”

 _Maybe..._ but it beats the constant cycle of being given expectations, attempting and ultimately failing the expectations, and being rejected by your family members.

F͜uc̛ki̡ng circl͝e̴s...

You felt Anti’s staticky hand gently touch your shoulder. You raised your gaze a little. “Y/N, if̀ ̸D͡a̛r͢k a̕b̷an̷do͝ns ̶y͘ou̢ ̕i͜n͡ t̸his w͝o͞rld, I j͜ust ҉ẃant͡ ͝y̵óu ̨t̷o k͏n̕ơw̵ ͟t̛ha̴t ҉I̢ ̕under̢s̴t̛an̡d ̢whe͠re ̸y̕ou’rè ̛com̷ín҉g͠ fr҉o͝m.̶ ̷ No one wants to burn the world, unless they’ve felt rejected by it. We could find you a place.”

As he said it, the glitching lessened and he almost looked like Seán. If you knew whether he liked hugs, you’d probably hug him and cry, regardless of the electrocution risk or getting stabbed. He kinda had a good heart, even if he did almost stab you for looking like him. He had been more open with you in less than a day than Dark had been in six months.

You were slightly surprised when you felt Anti hug you. It was almost like you were touching your maternal grandparents’ tv when you were a child. _Could Anti read minds like Dark?_

”Pardon your impromptu hug session, Darkiplier has a human soul. Does anyone realize how bad that could be for all of us, especially Renny?”

The hug stopped way too soon. Man, your adopted robotic son was smart. You wanted to say something about Dark already having Damien’s and Celine’s souls, but Wilford was there and you didn’t want to bring that up.

”Well considering that Dark is my best friend and my ex, the addition of Y/N’s soul could be why he reacted like he did.”

Everyone except Peevils looked to Wilford Warfstache as he said that.

”I mean I’ve known him for ages and he hasn’t broken his shell that extensively before. He has reality warping powers without the addition of a third soul. Y/N might have just thrown off the balance a bit,” He paused noticing the attention on him, “Just because I like to have fun and distract myself from what happened _then_ , doesn’t mean I’m not capable of providing information. Honestly, it hurts _a lot_ to think about it. But dead people totally come back and I’m not responsible for what happened at all...”

You chimed in hoping that it’d help, “Maybe let’s try talking about something that we probably can agree on, like candy, in case someone comes back.”

”I can’t eat traditional food without short-circuiting. I’d go for some micro-chips though.” 

”Wh́y ̛is͢ t̕her͠e̢ ͠s̶o m҉any g̴reen ̵appl̕e ͝f҉l͞a͟v̶ored̴ c҉a͟ndìe̛s ̀an̢d̵ n̛ot e͏n͠o̢ugh ̢lime ̛o̢ņe͜s̸?͞ W҉hat i͡f ͝I wan҉t̷ed̨ to get̸ my̕ b̴ett̨e̡r͏ sour͘ ͏f́ix?͢”

How long had Anti been holding onto that opinion? You were going to say something about your favorite candy, before you were interrupted.

**”Why are you sitting in my seat, Anti?”**

_For fuck’s sake..._ You nearly jumped out of your skin when you heard Dark’s voice. Your ears rang more than usual this time.

”W͠ell,͘ ̕it͢’s̢ no͡t̵ ͡like̶ you w̵e̶re the̷r̸e. ̛Be̡sid̴es͠,͟ ͠w̨e were̵ j͞ust ͏ta̛l̛k̶ìnģ àb̢out c̵a̶ndy.̡ Th̢e͘y ha͘ve͜n’t ̨gl͘it͜c҉he̡d̡ s̀i̛ńce yòu le̢ft.̨ ̧ I’m̷ ͠no̷t͢ th̴a̧t͝ m̢uch of̡ a̶n̨ ͏inf͠l̕uence͡ ͏on҉ ͢ Y/N.”

”Really? Their outfit says otherwise.”

If you could have told Wilford to be quiet for a second, you would have. However you lowered your gaze, and tried to make yourself seem smaller than what you were, in the hopes that everyone would stop fighting. It’s not like you could take them out if the fight escalated to something physical. Then again, that power surge saved your ass, and managed to get Anti on your side. It also scared Dark.

You internally called to the source, hoping that it’d return. You felt its power come back, almost engulfing you.

” **S̴TO̶P͡ FIG̸HTING!̛!͟!! ͟I̕t’̛s̷ a͟ ͟ch͝air͘ fo̢r͝ fu͟ck͡’s ͟sake.́ ̛Ḑar͡k,͞ tak̵e me ̴tǫ my r̴o̧om,͢ ̶s͠o͞ Í ͞c̛an ̶ge̷t ͝bac͘k.̢”**

As you finished that statement, the power vanished as quickly as it came. You realized you had phased through the table at some point, but you were standing on it and everyone was looking at you.

You apologized as you got down from the table, embarrassed about how you had to get them to stop. You waved goodbye to everyone as you followed Dark out of the room.

”I regret glitching out, Dark. That last time was intentional, and I just wanted to stop the fight from getting worse... Y’know how scared I get when I hear low voices yelling... That’s one reason why I sold my soul to you. I never said it, but I really needed the success so I could move away from being yelled at for not meeting impossible standards. Dark, if you hadn’t stopped my grandma’s thing on the Friday the Thirteenth last October, she would have told me to settle down and find a guy to marry. But knowing her, she would have rejected anyone that I would have chose.”

**”Even me, Y/N?”**

You laughed a little, “Only if she knew that you own my soul now, then again the eyeliner wouldn’t help.”

Dark opened the hotel room’s door, **”Y/N, this is probably the last time I’ll bring physically you to my world, unless you wanted to give up everything you sold your soul for. Considering how much you glitched, and that the last one was intentional, you’re probably going to have some _side effects_. Just let me know, okay.”**

He hugged you tightly before you walked through the mirror. You felt sad about the possibility of never seeing Antisepticeye again, or even your smol son, Blank. Yet one question ran through your mind: Why did everyone freak out when you said that you sold your soul to Dark?

  


As soon as you were fully out of the mirror, you saw that it was perfectly normal again. You grabbed your phone and you noticed that only two minutes had passed in your world, while you were on that slight adventure. You grabbed your bag, and everything you needed before you headed down to get breakfast at the buffet. You got on the elevator, and it stopped before it reached the ground floor, where the buffet was.

You recognized Seán as he stepped in the elevator.

”So Anti, are we heading down for breakfast?”

You nodded, and replied making no effort to disguise your voice, “Yeah, I’m getting waffles.”

”Are you Ninja Y/N?”

You smiled, “Yes, that’s me. Though technically I’m your evil alter ego now, so I should be attempting to burn the world or something.”

He laughed a bit, “Your secret’s safe with me. By the way, the attention to detail on the neck wound is amazing. Would it be okay if we took a selfie together, if I didn’t tag you in it?”

You nodded, “Of course.”

Seán took a selfie as you posed creepily behind him. He had taken a few photos before the elevator opened to the ground floor.

You made quick glances at each other after you both walked out of the elevator. As you parted ways, you couldn’t help but be reminded of all of the possibilities your new life had in store. 


	7. B͘ȩt͞ẁee̕ń P̸l҉a̡nęs

PAX East 2018 had been an absolute blast; apart from your Thursday freak out, everything went smoothly. You came back to your hotel room on Sunday, and quickly packed everything to get it ready to go to the airport tomorrow. You were practically bubbling with excitement.

_Boston to LAX, LAX to Ethan’s apartment, and maybe Ethan’s apartment to IKEA eventually..._

You barely slept at all, seeming to run on sheer adrenaline alone. For so long, you had dreamt of this day. Freedom from your family loomed so close, and you knew you had to hang on for just a little bit longer.

You heard a knock at the room’s door, and checked the peephole. It was just Ethan, and you opened the door for him.

”I’m all packed and ready. I couldn’t bring myself to sleep.”

”I wish I didn’t sleep last night, Y/N; I had a bad dream.”

You nodded as you got your carry-on bag and your suitcase, “Do you feel comfortable talking about it?”

He shrugged as you walked through the open door. “It was kinda like that recurring flower nightmare I used to have, but _you were there._ ”

As you walked to the elevator, you asked, “Really? What was I doing?”

”Well to start off the dream, I was walking through this hedge maze, and I found my way to this rose garden, like it was a really colorful collection of roses. I remember seeing blue and black roses along with the traditional red and white ones.”

You felt yourself shiver, at the idea that this dream could be an omen, “Where do I come in?”

”I could see you standing by this willow tree near the rose gardens. I mean looking back now, I should say that they were an almost exact copy of you, because they were dressed more feminine than you normally do.”

”I do wear dresses sometimes, Ethan. It’s just not a regular thing for me.” You thought about the times you were forced to wear frilly, pink dresses, before you put up a fight as a young teen. _Ew, not having choices._

”It’s not that; it’s that your copy was wearing something you’d see out of a fairytale book or a Disney movie.”

”What level of fancy was the outfit on?”

”Belle’s regular castle outfits from Beauty and the Beast, excluding the yellow dress.”

”Live action or animated?”

”Animated.”

”Okay, that is a bit much for me, especially if it’s not cosplay.”

”You see! Anyway, I ran to your copy, thinking that they were you, but here’s the weird thing: they looked like they weren’t a part of the rest of the dream, like they were lit differently or green screened in or something. I also tried calling out to them because I thought they were you, but your copy looked at me like I was a complete stranger.”

You laughed a little nervously, “Maybe they were my opposite alter ego, like the Anti to my Jack.”

”Y’know what, Y/N, that would make a shit ton of sense. I haven’t even gotten to the scary part yet, but they sort of grew this rose flower crown from their head at one point where I probably pissed them off.”

”Oh wow. That is weird.”

”And the weird part was that it felt super real, like how the elevator door is opening now.”

”Y’know, what doesn’t feel real, Ethan?”

”What?”

”The fact we’re gonna be roommates.”

”We should totally record a video together when we get home.”

”We could totally take shots someone comments that roommates vine.” 

”Or people shipping us.”

You both made jokingly grossed out expressions. As much as you liked Ethan as a friend, you weren’t attracted to him like that.

”Are you two done with your elevator shenanigans?”

Mark’s voice pulled you back to the moment. The elevator door was open to the lobby, and you stepped out of the door with your baggage and Ethan followed.

”We were debating about playing a bit of a drinking game, Mark.”

”Yeah, and it’d kill our livers, Ethan.”

You all walked to the hotel’s airport van, and placed your suitcases in the designated spot. You felt time speed up, and move around you unnaturally like you were being jerked around on a rickety, old roller coaster.

”Y/N, you’ve been spacing out since we got to the airport; are you ok?”

You noticed you were sitting in the window seat of the plane, and You turned to face Ethan to ask, “Did we land in L.A.?”

”Nah, we’re still in Boston. Do you need sleep? The flight’s gonna be six hours, and we haven’t even left the ground.”

”Probably, but when don’t I?”

 _ **”Hello everyone, this is your pilot speaking we have been cleared to leave the terminal.”**_

You took this as a sign to take a nap. You fell asleep at the same moment you closed your eyes.

  


You recognized your room in Darkiplier’s mansion almost immediately. You noticed a note placed delicately on the bed. You quickly grabbed the note.

**_’Dearest Y/N,_ **

_**I am going to be at a friend’s private library finding out as much about your glitching ability as I can, and if there are any cures. If you show up while I am out, please make yourself at home.** _

**_Signed, Darkiplier’_ **

You grinned at the idea of being home alone in a giant house. You decided to slip into some softer clothes, and wear a red robe that seemed a bit worn, but it was still soft. You opened the door to the rest of the hall.

You sprinted down the hall and slid down the staircase’s bannister. You were definitely going to do the things you’ve low key wanted to do for ages.

After getting some of the more loud and more motion based ~~obnoxious and rambunctious~~ things out of the way, you turned on the TV to set up Netflix so you could watch an animated film from the 1980’s you’ve only seen two other times: _The Last Unicorn_. As soon as it loaded, you paused it to head to the kitchen to make hot tea and popcorn.

You waited patiently for the water to boil while your popcorn was finished. You were jumpscared by a noise that came from the direction of the window. You collected your bearings and turned to look out the window. You saw Anti waving at you, while he was grinning mischievously. You opened the window to ask, “Anti, what the hell? No one has ever showed up at Dark’s house while I was here.”

”I҉ ͜wa҉s t͘r̶yín͢ģ to͘ se͢e̶ ͜i̵f ̀D̶a͢rk͞ ̸w͝as ̡hóme.͡ ̸I was ͜g͝oi͞ng̢ t͜o ̵as̸k͞ him to̧ ̴g͏i͠ve͞ ̶you thi͝s gift҉ that we̵ ͏wer͡ę g̕oi͡n̵g t͜o̡ ̀g̛ive͟ you̡ Fri͘daý.͜”

”Well, I guess you’re lucky I’m here while Dark is out. It seems like he’s going to be out most of the day. You could come on in, if you want to. I’ll—”

You stopped mid sentence when you realized that Anti had phased through the walls. Hadn’t he ever heard of using a goddamn door?

”Wh̨at̛ ͏d͝’y̵ą have ̸t̴h̢e ̵pòp͝co̸rn f͏or҉,͟ Y/N?”

You stuttered a bit while you answered him, ”Oh, umm, I was going to watch a movie and having popcorn makes it better.” You paused as you poured the hot water into a tea cup, “I also have enough tea made for 4 cups, so you could join me if you want too. I just have one rule, please don’t judge me on the movie.”

”As ͞lo̸ng̶ ͢as̀ I̢ ̧get̷ s͝ome͘ ͝popco̡rn,̷ I҉ ͜w̴on͘’͘t j̕udge ̛or ̶te͘l̶l ̡Ḑa̕r̶k͞ ̛ab͞oùt͞ t͟ḩis̢.̡” He smirked a bit, pouring some tea for himself.

Even though you disliked sharing food, this was popcorn and not the heavenly deliciousness of garlic bread. You nodded as you carried the popcorn to the TV room. You were going to get your teacup, and you saw Anti carrying it along with his; you said, “Thank you, Anti.”

He quickly placed the teacups on the coffee table that was between the couch and tv. You decided to sit down on the couch, and grabbed the remote; as soon as Anti sat down, you hit play and the movie started.

”So,̛ ͠Y/N, is͘ this ̷the͠ ̴p̡l͘aće y͟o͟ù węrę m̵ov̧in͟g̴ t́o͘o?̸”

You were taken aback by his question, but you stayed chill, “Nah, Dark doesn’t necessarily want me living on this plane. I’m actually asleep on an airplane ride to Los Angeles right now. I’m moving in with someone who’s just a friend to me.”

”Th͠a̢t’̕s̶ góod t͡o͝ ͞h͘e͞a̴r.”

The rest of the film was mostly quiet between you two, occasionally your hands met in the popcorn bowl. You were a bit worried about whether Dark would show up and catch you Netflix and Chilling with Antisepticeye. Yet, the thought still gnawed at the back of your mind.

”I’m not being unfaithful or disloyal to Dark, right?”

”We’̸ŕe ͠just͞ ̴w̧at̀ćh͘i͏n͞g ̕a ̶m͜ovie;͜ ͢h͟e̵ h̵a͞s̨ no̸ ̷re̵a͘s̵ǫn to͡ be j̸e͡àl̨o͏us.”

You nodded though you didn’t necessarily feel reassured. He hugged you a little, almost like he was going to say something but changed his mind before saying it. Part of you wished, you could have given your soul to him instead.

”I͜ w̵o̵uld̡n’t͜ be àble ͝t͏ǫ acc̢ȩpt̀ ̵i͏t̕, ‘càu͟s͜e Į ̵s҉ơld̸ ͞my ͞own ͜ages ag̕o. ̕I don͢’t evȩn͞ ̡r͞e̛m͝embe̵r m͠y o̸ĺd na̶me or who͡ I̶ was͡ ̛be͘f҉ǫre͠ t̷h͝i͞s͟.”

You turned to face Anti, before asking, “Really? Do you remember why?”

He smirked a little, ”I’̕ll͠ ҉tel̸l you̡, i̛f͠ you͠ ͜t̀ell me̷ wh̢y ͘y̷ou ͏sol̸d y͜our͝s fi̶r͘s͟t.”

”I wanted to have more self-discipline so I could maintain any success I’d gain as a video editor, but I mentioned a lot of stuff about permanence, and making my doubters eat their words. It was a bit _extra_.”

”I ͟w͢às d̷ỳįn͜g̛,͜ ͢and̸ ͢I̧ ̡sol̴d it to ͝be ͢a͏bl҉e t̵ó heal my͞s͝e̶l̨f.̵ I͏ s̕ti̕l̨l̵ ća̶n̨’̷t͠ ͟śt̶a͏nd̵ ͏be͏ing ̛w̶e͏ak͞. S̴ome̷d̴a͠ys, i͞t̢ ̛s͏till ̀f͢ee͘ls ҉li͡ke ̷I’̸m ͟dyi͞n͏g,́ a̷n͡d̴ ͝t́hat mom͟e͏n͏t ͘j̧ust̛ ̛r̡e҉p̨ea͠t͏s̴ ́ag̀a̡ìn, and̕ ̀àgàin̕, ̡ànd ͝ag̀ai̡n.͏ Li͝ke ev̡en th͟ơu͢gh the ̛m̸o͠m̧e͠nt͝’s̷ ͠g̶o̢n͏e͝, I҉ st̕i͢l͘l̸ jus̷t ͘w͡ant ̨to͢ ̸bé ̢n̴ot̢i̡c͝ed͘ ̕ǫr ̕a̶ck̴now͏l̛e̸d̀ged.͘ T͢hat’͟s all ͘I h҉a͢v҉e̵ ̴of ҉m̡y hum͟anit͡y.”

You hugged him tightly, hoping he’d understand that you understood his pain. He hugged you back. Since he sold his soul, were you destined to look like you were perpetually stuck in a Bethesda game? You shook that thought off, it wouldn’t be that bad.

”I ͘a̴l̨mos̵t́ ͘for̴g̴o͢t ̵t҉he ̴r̛eaśon w͝h̴y I ̵càm͝ę h̛er͞e i͡n ̶the fi̷r͘st͟ pļace.̶ G͜iv̕é ҉m̨e̛ ̧a ͝sec͡on̷d͘.̶”

You relaxed a bit more on the couch, and you remembered that earlier he said something about a gift. You saw him walk into the room holding a small rectangular box wrapped in pastel pink wrapping paper, and it had a silver bow. You assumed that Wilford had wrapped it.

Anti handed you the package, and shrugged a bit, “T̀hi͞s h̷a͠s ̵so͝m̶e͠th̨i̵n̛g f͜rom͟ all̴ ͏o͞f̴ ͢u̵s͢. ̵D̷o͟n’͠t ́b͏e a͢frai̷d͠ to ͏o̷p̀en ̶it, ͟t̴ho͏u̶gh͏ ͢B͜l͟a͜n̵k s̡a̛id h͡e wan͟te͏d ̛yo̵u ̧to̕ ̶r͞e̕ad h̵is let͜t̨e͘r̕ ͡i͠n̛ c̷a̢s͢é ̛ít̛ ge҉ts̡ b͞ad̡, Y/N.͏”

You nodded as you opened the present. Inside the box was a letter, a silver key, your favorite candy, and something you had never seen before. You held it in your hand, as it changed from being a knife to it being a revolver. You asked, “What exactly is this?”

”It’́s ̸so̡me̵t͡h͡i͢ng͘ ́as o̕ld a͠ś th̸e̴ mul҉ti͘v҉e͡r͝şe i͘ts̶elf, b͢ut i͟t͘ ̵i͟s o͝n͠e̷ ̢of ̴ma͢ny. ̵Wh͡at͞ev̀ęr ̸we̴a͟pon suits̀ y̧o͟ur͞ nee̴ds̢, ̶i̡ţ’̀ll ̛be ̷i̕t͝.̶ M̶y ̧fa̡v͜or̡it̵e͜ ̀k̕ni̵fe ͜is ̵act̢u͏al͏ly͢ ́on͜e͢ ̶of͜ ͠t͢hǫse, ̷an͜d Ì ́t͞h̨oug̡ht͏ i̴t’͜ḑ b҉é u͞s̨ef̢ul ͠fo̷r̸ ͝yo͝ù, e̡spe̕ćia̷l̷ly̸ ̶in ca͟s̶e ͞yo҉u need ̵a w̸a̷y͝ t̵o̶ def͢e̶nd͡ ̡y͢o̸u͠rs͡e͠lf̕ ̢from ̧a st͠ra͘nge͢r͠ i͘n͞ this͞ ̵w̴o̵rld.̀”

You placed the weapon down into the box and you hugged him, trying your hardest not to cry, “Tell everyone thank you, because I’m not sure if I’ll ever see you guys again. Like Dark said that’d be the last time he’d take me to this plane physically, if I didn’t change my mind. I just really want to know you guys more, because Dark isn’t the most open book in the world, and it’d be nice to have friends here too, instead of being so damn isolated.”

He hugged you back tightly, as he said, “I s̵ho͝uld͢ probab̕l̢y go ҉so̷o͡n, ͞b́út̴ I’ll ̸le͟t͜ ̶th̕e͝ ot̵he͟rs҉ ̀k͝n̢ow.”

When you realized that he had vanished, you felt a small wave of loneliness come over you. However you cleaned up the tv room, and carried the gifts up to your room. You ate the candy that Wilford had left, before you put the box in a drawer.

 _Man_ , were you really so isolated in general that you considered someone that almost stabbed you to be a friend? You sat on the bed as you heard the door open. You meditated for a moment to clear your mind from Anti’s unexpected visit. 

**”Y/N, I hope you didn’t wait too long for me.”**

You opened the bedroom door for Dark, so he’d hear you, “I saw a movie on the TV, had some popcorn and tea. I can keep myself entertained, Dark.”

He smirked a bit, **”Y/N, I don’t know why, but you always seem like you’re up to something.”**

You casually shrugged, “Years of maintaining the persona of a rebel. To be honest, it’s probably just my face that makes authority figures hate me.”

He stepped inside the room, and asked, **“How’s the flight to L.A. going?”**

”I don’t know. I’m asleep during it right now.”

**”Maybe, you should wake up. You might miss lunch, or the plane landing.”**

You made a face before you asked, “Do you not want me here, Dark?”

 **”What gave you that idea, Y/N?”**

”Like ever since Friday, you’ve been worried about me glitching out. Would it really be that bad if things didn’t go according to plan for once? Like maybe you could go with the _flow_ , or we could compromise something?”

**”I’m listening. Do you have any suggestions?”**

”I don’t know why but there’s something sexy about danger, fear, and maybe even a little bit of _blood_.” You winked as you said that last word, hoping you’d get to indulge that kink next time around.

 **”And for a safe word?”**

”Midnight.”

Dark nodded as you felt yourself fade from your dream.

  


_”Y/N, Y/N, Y/N...”_

”Ethan???” You reluctantly opened your eyes and woke up. You saw Ethan looking excited and worried simultaneously.

”You slept through the flight. C’mon, sleepy head, up and at ‘em.”

You grumbled a bit as you grabbed your carry-on bag. You followed Ethan and everyone off the plane to get to the baggage claim. You grabbed your suitcase when you saw it, and when Ethan got his, you followed him to the car.

You helped him put the stuff in the car, and hoped that everything here in L.A. would go smoothly.


	8. Midnight Whisperings (Smut)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot going on last week, so I’m extraordinarily sorry for posting this late. Merry Christmas!!

Darkness surrounded you here, and you had been here before, quite a few times in the past three months. You knew this place well, but yet not well enough. It was a mystery wrapped up in an enigma.

Dark had said that this was a place where death meant nothing, and sometimes twisted versions of your deepest fantasies showed themselves in whispers.

_”I’d love to **b̧r̴e͞ak̀** you into a million pieces and **s͢hat̷te͟r** the rest over places you’d never be found in the multiverse.”_

_”You’re such a **ẃh҉o̕r͝e̕** that you **s҉old out̡ èv́eryth̢ing͏ ̷y̵o̡u ͝co͝uld, Y/N.”**_

If you were being honest with yourself, the whisperings of the voices were like listening to your anxieties aloud. Occasionally you’d growl back at the voices, hoping they’d fuck off, but they always came back in droves. More often than not, they were the reason you’d shout out your safe word, rather than anything physical he had done: **M͡i̵̢d̕n͜i͟g̴h̶͟t͜**

”Sorry, Dark, th҉e͘y͏’͠re in m͡y̢ h̛eád͠ again.”

 **”Y/N, it’s okay. You did amazingly, darling. It’s pretty hard to focus on something when they’re there.”** He held you loosely against him, and once more, the dream faded away.

  


You woke up at 6 a.m. PST, and you made yourself some apple-cinnamon flavored oatmeal and your favorite tea. You were eating breakfast when Ethan stepped inside the kitchen to make a bowl of cereal.

”I know we don’t really talk about this a lot, Y/N, and to be honest, saying it out loud makes me feel ridiculous because I didn’t believe in it until recently, _but_ does paranormal activity follow you?”

You almost spat out your tea, but you tried composing yourself before answering, “What makes you think that, Ethan?”

Ethan pulled out his phone and showed you a clip of the bathroom lights flickering, “They didn’t do that before.”

”You have any other evidence?”

Ethan proceeded to show you a collection of pictures he had that all had one thing in common; you had been distorted in all of them, sometimes your eyes were fully blacked out, but one caught your attention. It was a picture of you with a splotchy red line across your neck and the coloring of the rest photo almost looked like it was grayscale. _A͡n̵t̛i, Dark, or someone else?_

”Ethan, these could have been a mistake in your phone’s SD card, right?”

”You talk gibberish in your sleep, Y/N. Like a few times, I was up in the middle of the night when I heard you, and it seemed like you were having a conversation with someone, but it wasn’t like anything I’ve heard before in real life.”

You decided to confess a little bit, “Ethan, if I said exactly what happened, there’d probably be more repercussions than what I have now.”

Ethan froze for a second before asking, “What did you do?”

You shrugged, “It doesn’t matter, but I do have a spirit attached to me for better or worse.”

”That sounds like you’re married to a ghost.”

”Bitch, I might be, but seriously though, it’s complicated,” you finished your tea. All this time, and you still didn’t really know what you were to Dark. You had sex with each other sometimes, and he had referred to you as ‘paramour’, ‘darling’, and other pet names, but you had issues trusting him because he was so emotionally closed off from you. Maybe he was like that with everyone?

”Y/N, this is serious. What if Lili and I have to drag your memey ass from Hell just because you thought some demon had a sexy face?”

You shrugged, “I don’t think it’ll work like that. Besides if you really wanna find out what I’m saying in my sleep, we could like record it for a livestream on my channel or something.”

Ethan sighed a bit in frustration, before saying, “Let’s buy a microphone.”

After you guys went to an electronics store to buy a microphone, you spent most of the day editing for Ethan, and setting up everything to record the audio of you sleeping.

”Are you sure you want to do this?”

You shrugged, “To be honest, I kinda wanna hear what I’m saying in my sleep.” 

You weren’t lying, though you did have another motive that you were not going to say out loud. You were definitely afraid of what you could become. Ethan’s nightmare, that he had the night before you moved out, hadn’t left your mind at all. 

Was it your destiny to become someone who looked like they’d belong at Coachella or Woodstock, rather than what you’d expect your evil copy to look like? 

”Ground Control to Major Tom, you okay, Y/N?”

”I was thinking about that nightmare you had that featured my doppelgänger again.”

Ethan nodded before asking, “Do you think they’re connected to this?”

”I don’t know. I’ve mainly worked with this one _entity_ and they look almost nothing like me.”

”So what does your ghost look like, Y/N?”

You froze for a moment. You knew you couldn’t answer truthfully by saying Darkiplier. You whispered, “They look more like a black and white photograph of a person rather than someone you could really hold. It hurts to look at them directly. I’ve only seen them in my dreams. Their voice probably gave me tinnitus. Everything about their presence is overwhelming. Yet it draws me in like a moth to a flame.” 

The air in the room had become unnaturally colder and the lights in it had started flickering erratically.

Ethan started using his phone to take pictures of the room as he said, “I don’t think they like you talking about them.”

”No shit; why do you think I never brought them up before you asked me?”

Ethan thought a moment, “Are you sure you want to do this still?”

”Yes, because they asked me to monitor weird stuff that happens around me.” 

The room had returned back to normal and it felt lighter. Ethan looked at you, pausing before saying, “They listen to you.”

You shrugged again, “They _know_ me, and helped me through a pretty shitty situation.”

When it was time to go to bed, you started the audio recording and fell asleep on your futon mattress, waiting for the inevitable trip into the shadows.

  


**”Y/N, why did you tell _him_ about me?”**

You couldn’t see anything, much less Darkiplier, in this place, but you felt his breath on the back of your neck.

”I-I didn’t know. I didn’t even say your name at all. I ju-just couldn’t lie to Ethan, okay. He was onto us, or rather me.” You felt yourself shiver as you stammered out those words.

 **”Are you willing to accept your punishment, _Y/N_?”** He touched your left arm, ghosting over your skin.

You thought for a moment before you gave him an answer, “I accept whatever you have for me.”

There was a moment where you didn’t feel Dark’s presence next to you at all. The stillness of this shadow world felt like an eternity spent in a sensory deprivation tank. Was he seriously punishing you by leaving you to fend for yourself against the voices you _knew_ would follow after like sharks to a drop of **bl҉o̸od̵?**

You heard a _swoosh_ before your mind registered the sensation of a cold, metallic line skirting across your neck and a warm liquid followed the line: blood, **your͞ ҉blood͞.**

You knew you wouldn’t die in this forsaken place, but you gurgled, “Cad é do damáiste?”

You heard Dark chuckle as he spoke, **”Out of all the times to show off your knowledge of another language, you pick now?”**

”What is _your_ damage, Dark?” You asked it as you felt the wound slowly heal. You wondered if he could see you looking at him. He hadn’t used a knife before on you. Usually you were used to him biting your neck until you bled, or him choking you. Knives were more of Anti’s thing, though you had sort of fantasized about what it’d feel like to have one dragged across your neck.

**”Are you still enjoying yourself, Y/N?”**

”Yes, I just didn’t see that coming at all,” you paused before you continued, “I’m kinda into it.”

He kissed your neck, licking some of your blood off you. You moaned, hoping you didn’t sound too needy, but the sensation felt amazing. One thing that could have increased the pleasure would have been— He moved his hand to between your legs, and proceeded to rub your clit with his thumb.

_”You’re going to have to **m͘ak̢e̴ ͠a̷ cho͝ice,** Y/N.” _

You ignored the voice as you were absorbed in your own pleasure, and almost near climaxing. When you came, you barely noticed that Dark had stopped licking your neck wound, and had moved somewhere else in the shadows. As you recovered from the high, you decided to pay attention to the voices that came from this void.

_”Don’t trust **h͞i̸m**. He’s **h̷i̢dįn͢g͠ ͠év͞ȩr̕ýt́hing̴** from you.”_

You heard static from a radio playing a part of a song you had heard before, and it sounded distorted and it cut out words.

_’Someone told me there's a — out there with love in — eyes and flowers, in — hair.’_

You froze for a moment, before you shouted, **”Mi̧̧d̨͠n̵i͜g̛͘͞ḩt͠!!”**

You felt Darkiplier instantly rush over to you.

**”Y/N, what happened?”**

”I paid attention to the voices...They hit a nerve... I can’t do this anymore...” You were weakly crying.

The void of shadows suddenly became Darkiplier’s bedroom, and you were lying down in bed next to him. His aura seemed more blue than usual as he gently asked, **“Is this better?”**

You nodded, afraid of saying anything that would cause more tears to fall. You moved closer to him, and you felt him hold you gently.

**”Do you feel comfortable talking about it?”**

You shook your head, and just relaxed near him for a moment. You waited for yourself to calm down, before you asked, “Can I be honest with you?”

**”Of course.”**

”Is it okay, if we took a break from having sex? It’s kinda fucking up my head a bit. Especially because we’ve known each other for awhile, and yet, I still feel like you’re closed off to me.”

He nodded as he processed what you had said. You held onto him as you felt the dream fading, hoping it wouldn’t end.

  


” _Y/N_ , are you okay? You screamed pretty loudly. I’m surprised the neighbors haven’t called 911.”

You groggily answered, “Ethan, I had a pretty fucked up nightmare. I was basically stabbed, and that wasn’t what scared me.”

You got out of bed and stopped the recording. You and Ethan decided to isolate the areas where you spoke. After replaying it a few times, you realized something.

”We need to reverse the sound. It kinda sounds like I’m talking like Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls.”

You heard yourself crying, screaming your safe word aloud, and a phrase you had picked up.

”What does ‘cad é do damáiste’ mean, Y/N?”

”It means ‘what is your damage’ in Irish. The language that is spoken in the Gaeltacht. I decided to learn Irish on a language learning app.”

What exactly was your damage? It seemed deeper than you had anticipated, and like another bucket of worms.


	9. Honey, there is no right way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting this last week, but I was really busy.

It had literally been _months_ since you had seen Darkiplier. At first, you had been worried that you had done something wrong to cause his sudden unexpected disappearance from your dreams, but you realized that it was probably for the best to act like everything was normal. Yet despite Dark being gone, the paranormal activity around you hadn’t stopped at all, much to Ethan’s and your annoyance. By the time that PAX West prepping had arrived, you basically gave up on ever seeing that old school, 3-D looking asshole again.

 _”Y/N_ , you’re spacing out again.”

You looked down at the Pacific Ocean from the plane’s window, and turned your head to face Ethan. “Yeah, I’ve just given up on something, or I guess I should say someone.”

”Is it, y’know, _that one?_ ” 

You knew he was referring to the Dark, and you replied, “Yeah, they didn’t even have the decency to tell me that we were through.”

”Ouch, that’s gotta hurt. You really don’t deserve that. Maybe we all should go bar or pub hopping with everyone, once we’re all settled, to help you with the breakup.”

You thought about it, before asking, “When you say all of us, how many people are we talking?”

”I’m talking you, me, Lili, Jack, Robin and his girlfriend, Mark, Amy, Tyler, and Kathryn.”

”I don’t know why, but I feel like someone’s missing, and it’s really obvious, but I can’t remember who.”

”That’s kinda weird.”

”It was like that for me at PAX East too. Like we’d do things with everyone, and I just got this feeling that someone was missing, especially when it involved Jack.”

~~_Or Antisepticeye..._ ~~

”So kinda like deja vu?”

”That or my anxiety is probably going haywire.”

”If it’s any consolation, since you’ve mentioned it, I’ve lowkey felt that way too.”

”It’s gotta be aliens, man.” 

”Always abducting people. for science.”

”The Truth is Out There.”

You both laughed for awhile, until you said, “Seriously though, that idea about us hanging out at a pub sounds awesome. Maybe with like a little bit less people: You, Me, Lili, and at tops, two other people.”

Ethan grinned, “I’m going to make sure you have a good time, Y/N. That ectoplasmic asshole won’t even be a thought at the back of your mind.”

Part of you wanted to tell him exactly who you had sold your soul too, and that you were in fact missing your soul, but that was a conversation for another day. You said, “I’m gonna let you pick the place. I like music and singing, so anything with live music or karaoke would be awesome.”

”It’s going to be perfect. I already know exactly who I’m picking going to pick to be the mystery person to come with us. I’m dming them on twitter right now because they’re already there.” 

”You’re really enjoying the plane wifi. Are you going to tell me who they are?”

”It’s a surprise, and I’m googling a place to go to in the mean time, and found something to surprise you with again. Happy almost birthday!”

”Shit, I forgot about almost being 23.”

You heard a voice grumble behind you about foul mouthed millennials. You said, “Piss off, grandma. You cursed in your youth. Leave us be, you’re just like the authority you were rebelling against.”

The grumbling stopped, before you heard, **”Attention passengers, we have almost arrived in Seattle. The local time is 2 pm, and unsurprisingly, it’s raining. Back͢ ̵t̸o ̴y̡ou,̡ Ji͟m̀.̶”**

You turned to Ethan as if to ask, _’Did you hear that last part?’_

Ethan was a little wide-eyed and nodded, “Yeah, that’s not normal, Jim. Bright side, they confirmed and would like to go with us.”

”Well, that’s good. I don’t have to worry about you and Lili being all kissie-faced with each other the whole time.” 

You teased him a little bit about the romantic relationship that had just sort of blossomed over the last 10 months between him and your best friend. That’s why she was going to be at PAX, because afterwards, she was going to be moving in with you guys.

”Okay, I walked into that. We wouldn’t either way, because no one likes that couple and we wouldn’t want you to feel worse.”

You felt the plane hit the ground gently. “I’m surprised we made it in one piece, Jim.”

Ethan snorted, “Yeah.”

As soon as you guys could you headed to the baggage claim. You saw Lili waving around next to her luggage.

”Y/N L/N!!!!! It’s been ages since we saw each other.”

You hugged Lili and held her close to you, “Thank goodness for tumblr and cell phones.”

Ethan rushed over with both of your suitcases. You carefully stepped out of the way and took the suitcases from Ethan so he could properly meet his girlfriend in person for the first time. You were happy for your best friends but you felt a twinge of sadness, and maybe anger, about your own love situation. It hurt too much to think about Darkiplier so you dropped that thought before you would end up crying in public. Not exactly the healthiest thing to do, but you were going to save the crying for your hotel room.

 _”Y/N_ , are you ready to get to the hotel?” Ethan was standing next to Lili and had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, and they were both smiling at you.

You nodded, “Yeah, though can I have like a few minutes to chill in my hotel room before we go to the place you picked?”

”Of course!”

You all stepped outside and managed to get a taxi to the hotel. You watched the rain fall from the car’s window letting the tranquility fill your mind, until the cab arrived at the hotel.

You all got out of the cab with your suitcases, got in the hotel, checked in at the front desk.

”I’m sorry, but your two rooms aren’t next to each other because of a computer error that I can’t explain,” The receptionist seemed genuinely sorry, and a little anxious.

”That’s fine. What rooms do we have?”

”221, and,” the receptionist gulped, “666.”

You snorted and said, “I’ll take the _demon_ room.” 

The hotel’s lobby’s lights flickered as you said demon.

The receptionist looked at you wide-eyed as they handed you the keys to the room.

”Y/N, did you sell _your soul_ again, for that room?,” Lili joked to ease the tension from the situation, but the lights flickered again.

You laughed nervously, “Yeah. I’m going to go there now.”

Ethan’s expression changed from pretty calm to a state of almost panic, “Y/N, Lili and I could probably take that room-key. I don’t want you getting hurt by _them_.”

You sighed, “Ethan, it’d probably be better if I used the room. I don’t want them to take their anger out on you. But you should show Lili the photos and the audio in case something does happen.”

You took your bags and went inside the elevator to your room. You thought about how ridiculous the thing was. What hotel has a room ‘666’? That’s at least 4 times as cursed as having a 13th floor.

You got to your room and everything was completely normal. It didn’t have the weird smoke damage the room in Boston had. After you decided everything was safe, you released your emotional inhibitions and broke down sobbing about your ‘lost’ love for what felt like an hour. 

You went to the bathroom to take care of your face, and hide the evidence of your grief. You decided to put on some black eyeshadow to make a smoky eye. You looked at your hair; it was purple with some balayage. You decided to mix up your usual hair color combination, when you went to the salon a couple of days ago.

You left the bathroom to put on your trusty leather jacket, and to grab the black umbrella you brought with you for this trip. Your cellphone rang, and you answered, “Heyo!”

”Hey, everyone’s in the lobby. You ready to head out?” Ethan sounded excited, and you could hear Lili speaking to someone in the background.

”Yes, just give me time to take the elevator, and I’ll be there, bye.”

You put your phone into your purse and made sure that you had your umbrella as well, before you headed out the room to the elevator. You felt excited as the elevator approached the lobby. You walked out of it, when the doors opened. You saw Ethan, Lili, and Seán chilling on one of the lobby’s couches, and headed over to them.

You had a feeling that you should have known that Ethan was going to pick him, but you didn’t actually register the possibility until it happened. You couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was missing, but despite the feeling you said, “Hey, I’m here. Are we going to going out on the town?”

”Yeah, and it’s so close to the hotel, we can walk to it.” Ethan grinned.

You guys followed Ethan out into the rainy weather. You held your umbrella to protect your purple hair, and casually said, “This weather is a big mood.”

”What are you down about, Y/N?,” Seán asked with a genuine concern.

”Actually, Jack, I sort of see the rain as a purifier. It washes out the bad stuff and brings renewal and life.”

You were much more comfortable with calling him by his nickname since you’ve known that one longer, and you didn’t feel like you knew him well enough to call him Seán.

”That is true,” He smiled at you before continuing, “So what exactly are we celebrating tonight?”

”It’s almost my 23rd birthday, and Lili and Ethan met in person for the first time today. It’s just a night to celebrate.”

”Ay! Happy Birth!!!”

You snorted when you heard Seán say that statement; you grinned and said, “Thank you.”

You guys walked into the pub Ethan was leading you too, and were seated farther away from the bar and closer to a smallish staging area where there were microphones, a black chair, a keyboard, and a drum-set, set up. You also noticed a bright red binder that was placed on a music stand in front of the stage.

”Y/N, the stage is why I picked this place out. You said you liked live music and karaoke, and you can do karaoke here with a live band!” Ethan grinned, probably proud of his good luck in picking a pub.

You hugged Ethan as you said, “Thank you for the birthday present.”

”Your actual birthday present from me is in L.A., Y/N.” 

”I actually brought my present for you with me.” Lili opened her purse and handed you a small box.

You opened the box to reveal a necklace. It had a red gem shaped like a heart with silver angel wings protecting the stone for a pendant. You quickly put on the necklace. You repeatedly thanked Lili for the gift.

”So what d’y’all want to drink?” A waitress asked with a Texas accent. It threw you off guard to hear the accent in Seattle.

You pulled out your ID, and ordered a mojito with a glass of water. Lili also ordered a mojito, while Ethan and Jack, both got beer.

You decided to peruse the pub’s food menu and you picked the Garlic Parmesan Fries. The garlicky goodness of garlic bread surrounding the golden perfection of french fries. The only downside would be if someone tried stealing your fries.

When the waitress came back with drinks, she took all of your food orders, and left. You saw someone carrying a cello onto the stage.

 _Holy fuck,_ cello as a bass instrument, that opened a ton of new possibilities for songs.

You said something out loud, “I wish that band idea I had in high school had panned out.”

”What stopped it from happening?,” Jack asked curiously, yet there was some caution in his voice.

”Ho boy, Jack,” Lili took a sip of her mojito before continuing, “That is a can of worms.”

”Where do I begin? I had bad luck finding local musicians who weren’t shitty. My dad’s parents hated the fact I wanted to be a _’vocal beacon of sin’_. I also had college to finish, and since sound editing and video editing were a part of the same major, I got an Ass Degree in YouTube.”

As soon as you said ‘Ass Degree’, you heard the table laugh. At least that was one thing you were good at, making people laugh at stupid stuff. Lili probably thought it was a joke that you sold your soul to Darkiplier, but now, he had your soul and he was probably gone forever: never to return again.

 _”Y/N_ , what instrument do you play?” 

Seán’s question surprised you, and you took a moment before answering him, “I played guitar, though piano was my first instrument. I sold them to pay for the plane tickets to move out. I hadn’t picked them up in years though, because the band failing stole another chunk of my soul. It just disheartened me to even look at them.”

”Y’know, it’s never too late to pick up where you left off.”

_How did he know exactly what to say?_

”Y’know what, Jack? Tonight’s the night I’m going to take my dream. Fuck soul stealers that lurk in the shadows of our minds, I’ll sing.”

You walked from your spot to join a small line of people who were in front of the red binder. The line of people choosing songs to sing and writing their selection down moved pretty quickly. You saw a song you had memorized when it came out, one you had learned on piano, and chose it because it was perfect for how you felt.

You returned to the table with a sense of accomplishment, though you felt like you were on edge. It was a unique feeling to say the least, but you shrugged it off as your anxiety. You drank the water you ordered, saving the mojito until after you sang.

”So what song did you pick, Y/N?”

”It’s a surprise, but it’s something that I should probably use to guide me into the next months, Jack.”

Your food had arrived around the time the first person was called up to sing. You scarfed your fries down quickly.

”Y/N, are you sure it’s healthy to eat those fries that quickly?”

”No one touches _my_ food; Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras.”

You were territorial with your food, especially fries because before you moved out, your family had a tendency of eating the food off your plate. They didn’t know that when they did that you were still hungry by the time you went to bed.

”Hunger is the best sauce?” Seán raised an eyebrow.

”Yeah, my biological family’s eaten food off my plate repeatedly for years, while I was still eating off it. It’s kinda touchy subject for me still. Popcorn is like the only food I feel comfortable sharing with someone.” 

You heard the song _No. 1 Party Anthem_ by the Arctic Monkeys start to play and noticed that Lili and Ethan had gotten up to dance to the song. You were kind of grateful that Seán was sitting at the table with you.

”Is it bad I’m a little jealous?”

You were surprised at his question, but you answered, “Not really, I mean; Lili’s gorgeous and she’s funny. Plus she’s really loyal to her friends.”

”I didn’t mean it like that. Like I’m jealous that I feel like someone’s missing in my life, and everyone else just seems to find their own love.”

Wait, _he’s single_?

”Jack, today, I finally came to terms with a breakup that happened a few months ago. I don’t mean to add gasoline to a fire, but romantic love sucks if it’s with the wrong person. Then again, I’ma little bitter that Ethan and Lili found each other, while this jerk abandoned me for three months without so much as a ‘we are over’ text.”

”That’s really rough. Are you okay with a hug?”

You nodded and he hugged you. You savored the moment before asking, “Do you still remember the Antisepticeye cosplay I wore at PAX East?”

”Dude, I still wonder how you did the neck wound, like it’s hard to forget bumping into your evil alter ego in an elevator.”

You grinned as you explained how you made the cosplay, and offered to send him the instructions digitally and he excitedly accepted the offer.

”Y/N L/N, may you please come to the stage?”

”Could you please watch my mojito? While I sing?”

Seán nodded, and you walked onto the stage. The band asked if you were ready and they also pointed out that there was a book full of lyrics in case you were unfamiliar with the lyrics. You nodded as you soon as you were ready.

The opening chords started and sang the opening lyrics when they came. You felt the confidence building and sang with all your heart. You looked across the room. Everything seemed normal.

_”I fall in love just a little ‘ol, little bit, every day with someone new.”_

As the song ended, you froze as you saw Darkiplier standing right in front of the bar.


	10. How Far Down I Can Sink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You encounter Darkiplier and it is much, much different than what you had expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made a couple of Spotify playlists for this fanfic, and just I’m really excited about this fanfic, and the direction it will take in these last chapters.

As soon as you guys left the bar, you headed to the hotel-room: determined to call out that _asshole_ for leaving you. Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with him? In what world, does taking a break from one aspect of your relationship mean a break up?

You looked in the mirror absentmindedly as you removed the makeup off your face, before brushing you teeth and heading to bed. If he thought that he could get away with abandoning you for months on end and act like nothing happened, he was going to be sorely mistaken. Who cares if you weren’t supposed to go to bed angry? You had a right to be.

  


**”Did you miss me?”**

You were standing in a dark grey room and you searched for him, “Dark, you and I both know that the last time we saw each other, before you were at the bar, was months ago. I finally got over you abandoning me.”

You felt something touch your shoulder, and you turned to face Darkiplier.

**”I just wanted to say that we— _I_ wanted to let you off easily.”**

”Disappearing off the face of the earth, is letting me off easily? What did I do _wrong_?”

**”We’re not right for each other.”**

”Well, no fucking shit. Like healthy relationships are based on communication where everyone has equal footing,” you sighed before continuing, “We’ve known each other for almost a year and yet, you never were as open as I was.”

You looked at him in disappointment, though part of you hoped he would say something.

**”Y/N, how do you feel about the phrase: ‘F̀͝low̴er̸͝҉ Cr̛͠o͠w̵n’?”**

You felt like you were sinking. You hadn’t even met your _evil_ counterpart at all, and Ethan had seen them in one of his nightmares. Yet, every time you thought about them, and their stupid flower crown, it filled you with this irrational fear. Maybe, that’s why Antisepticeye wanted to fucking stab you when you first met. There was just something unsettling about seeing or meeting your own doppelgänger.

You spoke as unemotionally as you could, “They’re the **e͞ye̵c̕i͜t͞pe͟s͜i͠tn̷A** to my Jack, aren’t they?”

Dark looked at you peculiarly, **”How long have you been speaking backwards?”**

You felt anger festering within you, ”That doesn’t matter, **elo͏hs҉s͠a**. How do you know my opposite?”

**”Flower Crown and I have been dating for a few months now.”**

”Why didn’t you break up with me sooner?”

He stood there silently. It was eerie, but why didn’t he answer your question. Your ears didn’t even ring. Was he even there?

**”I felt guilty.”**

”Well congratu- _fucking_ -lations, Dark; despite what happened in the house, long ago, you still have _some_ humanity left.” You bowed sarcastically. If he hadn’t abandoned you for three months, you would have been proud that he expressed himself. 

Yet, he was still standing there stoically. What was going on inside his head?

 **”I felt guilty that I fell in love with someone else, while you were left alone. So I decided to do you a favor, _Y/N_ , and I removed someone from this universe so you could experience a love you deserve. One that _I_ could not provide you.”** He seemed more blue than usual for a brief moment. _~~Damien?~~_

You thought for a moment about what he said, before the realization hit you. “Wait, _you_ deleted someone from this universe?”

**”Yes, her name was Signe, and she was in a relationship with Jack. To be honest, I don’t think anyone noticed really.”**

”Actually, Seán noticed, you asshole!”

Without thinking, you punched Darkiplier right in the face. The familiar static surged through you. As you realized what you had done, you looked to Darkiplier. He was crumpled over in such a broken manner that it looked like a glitch you had seen in a Skyrim play through. It did not look like a position any living _person_ could mimic.

What the fuck did you just do to your ex? You really fucked it up this **E͘MIT̸ ͝.**

Suddenly, you heard this deep, loud laughter circulating around you and Dark’s body.

**”D͠҉̶I̸̛͠Ḑ͏́͠ ̴̧̧̀Y̡͜͟Ǫ̷̧͢͏U͏͝ ̧̡͞R͏̴͡E̷̛̕͘͟Á͠͝L̷̷̛͜L͏̵̡̕Y̧͜ ҉̸̧T̸҉ḨĮ̵͞͏Ǹ͘͠͝K̶̡̡̛ ̡̀͠͏͘Y͘͢Ǫ̸͝͡͞U̸̸͢ ̶̷̶̴̀C̕͜Ò̸̸U̷̕͢͢L̷̛͞͝D҉̨̢͡҉ ̴̴͠K̀̕͜͜͡Ì̡L̵̨̡͝͏L̨̢ ͘M̡̀͏̧͢E̢̨͟͠ ̶̢̡T̷̵̛Ḩ̡A̶̴̡̢̛T̵̡̨̀͞ ̢E̕̕À̷͟Ş́̀I̵̵̶̵͠L̴̛͢Ỳ̡͘?͞҉͜”**

If Flower Crown made you feel fear, this was something much more intense. You wanted to escape, yet you were frozen in place where you stood. This was more than you bargained for. 

**”Y/N, Į̵̶͏ ̧A҉͝M̸̡͝ ̧́́͡҉Ơ̴̵̡Ļ̶̵́́Ḑ̴͏E̡̧͜͝Ŕ̵͝ ̵̀͜͜͡T̶̕͞H̷̶͜҉̕A͏̡̡N̨̨̛͢͝ ̛͜T̶̢͏̢͝H͞͏̧̕͟I̴̶̡͜Ş̨͘̕͢ ́͟͏U͏͢N̢͝͝I̡͏̵͟V̡̀É̛͢͟͡R͜͝S̸̸͢E̴͟͝.̷̶͠ ҉҉̛҉I̧̡̡ ̧͠W҉A̕͜͟͜͠S̡̛ ͏͘͏̷̢H̢̛͠͠E̡͝҉҉ŔE҉͏͞͞ ̨҉̸̢͏F̛͡O͏̵̴R̸̢ ̴̨̛̛͜T̴̀͟͢H͢͠͞E̸̛҉ ̴̵́͡Ç̡͢R̡̕͜͠Ȩ̨̢́̕A̷̡͢҉T̷̴̴Į̴̢̕Ó̢̕Ņ̷̴͡͠ ͟͢͠O͟F͏̷͜͟͏ ̵͟T̢́H̢́́͘̕È͝҉ ̢̧̨͟M҉̛́U͏҉̷́͏L͡҉̸T̵͠͠͏I̶̶̧̧V͏̢̕͜Ę̷͟R̸̴̕͟͟S̡͢͝͠Ę́͘.̵̶͝ ̧̧͜͢Į̷̢͡ ̸̢A̵̛͟͞͠M̸͢͞ ̸͠C̛͡҉̢Ļ͟͝͡E̴̴̴̡̧A̵͝͏̀R̸̶̴̵͢L҉̸̡͘Y̡͜͢ ̷N̛͠Ò҉̵T̴͠ ̴̀́͢͡Ḩ̴̕͞ŲM͘͡A̡̢N͜͠͠.̴̧͘͢͡”**

You looked back at Dark’s body. He was standing still again yet you saw the red and blue aura separating out from his body. You had a strong feeling that if you looked at him for any longer, you were definitely going to have really bad nightmares.

You quickly shut your eyes and began to think about your favorite things. You didn’t want to look at him, yet you felt brave enough to ask something while your eyes were closed, “What are you? If you’re not Celine, Damien, or the District Attorney, who were all human?”

**”I̛ ҉w͢a͜s͝ th̕er͏e͜ when͏ a ma͡n̡o͝r̴ w͏as ͞buil͠t ͜a̸rou̴n̢d me͞.͜ I lov̷ed͞ mes͏śi̴ng̨ ͞wi͘t̷h ҉t͞he ͝hu̵màņs͞ who ̢l̶i̡v҉e͞d͘ ͢the͢re. Ì ͡di͜sto͝r̨ţed ҉the ͘r̴e̡a͟li̡ty ar̕o͏u͢ǹd t͝hem, ̧but ͘I͢ was͟ l̨i̡mite҉d̷ wit͠hou̡t ̸a͟ ves̶se͞l̴.̢ ̡S͘ǫ ̵whe̵n ̢s͘om̀e̛ǫn͝e͞ ͟k̡ep̧t͏ dy͡in̛g̴ ͝mul̕ti͢pl͘e a͘c͢c҉id͞en͢t̛al d̀ea͝t̵hs̨,̀ ţhat͘ I̷ ͝ça͜use̵d̕, I͘ ca̵mę ͠up w҉it̀h̕ ́a plan͞ ̡t̀o g̨e͟ţ ͟w̡h͞a̕t̴ I w̕a̛nt̴éd: ͘a ̴v̢eśs̶el.”**

_Demons, Jim, demons._

”So, you’re who killed Markiplier? What happened to Celine and Damien?”

**”Wh͝ý d͘o͢n’t ͜you̶ ͜o͢p̛en ͞yo̸ur ͜e̸y̸e͏s,̶ Y/N?”**

You didn’t trust Darkiplier, yet you did as he asked. You saw the glowing figures of Celine and Damien standing in front of you, yet they looked lifeless with their eyes closed. You noticed what seemed to be blue and red strings that trailed off further into the **sse̸nk̛r̸a͟d͞.** The darkness seemed to move on its own, and you would have sworn it changed shapes.

You felt like you were going to be sick from this growing scent of death, and decay. Despite your fear, you spoke, “I know this is going to sound stupid, but what happened to the District Attorney?”

You heard the darkness laugh before replying to you, **”Y/N L/N, I ori͘gińa̧l̸l͢y ẃan͏ted ̨t̀o͜ ̨t̕a̶k͠e ̸th͢eìr soul ͢j̵u͞s͏ţ ͝li̴ḱe ͟I̢ ̶d̸id͡ w͡ith ͘C̀e̷l͟i̧n̢e͘’s̛, ͝bu͞ţ he͢r̷ ̧brot̕he͜r ͠sac̶ri͢f͟ice͞d ͏hi͘mself͜ ͜f̸or͜ t́hei͟r ̢sak̕e͠. ͢I ͘ma͡de ͘do̕ ẁith w̡h҉a҉t I ha͘d͢, ̀a͠ǹd͟ ̀b͘y ̶thȩ ̨tim̨e ͝W҉iļl ḩa̴d sh͢òt̶ t͠h̷em̵,̵ Í ͡l̷ef̢t ̕ţheir̛ soųl͠ ̀in͘ ͜a҉ ̧m̀i҉rro̵r ̡so ́I̴ ̕cou͘l͝d͢ re̕t̡r͢ie̶ve͜ ͏it l̢ater.̀”**

”Well, did you find them?”

**”Ye͟s̶,̢ b̀ut ͏t͜h̸ey̵ w̧e͘r̵e ͢n͞ot̨ w͞h̵ere I ҉h͡ad ̛l̕eft̶ ͏t̀h̵em. ̕Th́éy̡ ͢th͏ought t̀hey͘ ̷co͟ųl͠d es̨cap͘e ҉m̵e͘ ̧bỳ ͟r͝e͠incarn̢ati͡ńg͢ ̧i̕n͝t̵o a par̶alle͝l̛ u҉n̵iv̵er̡s̶e͝.́ H͠ow͘ever̨, I̸’d ŕećo͏gn͏ize t͡h̷em͢ ͡a̷nyẃh͜e͢r̴e͠ ͠i͜n̨ th͢e̵ m͡u͜l͘t̕ive̢r̷sé. ̛Th͠e͟y h̡av͞e ̸the p̛ote҉n̴t͡ia̢l ̧t̢o ̵be àn̨yo͘ne̸, ͏a̷nd th̨a̡t̨ ҉pote̶n͏ti҉al ćo͟ul҉d̡ e̶a͞śilỳ be ̵u͢şe͠d͟ ̷by̸ m̶e̛.̧”**

”Who are they?”

You felt trapped like a fly caught in a spider’s web, or a sailor swimming out to a siren’s song. You didn’t trust the third main component of Darkiplier anymore, yet, you had to know the answer to that question.

**”It i͢s͝ you, Y/N.”**

You stood there, until you felt a sudden impulse to speak your mind, “You’re a garbage person, Dark. I hope you know that. You’re not human, and yet, you keep finding new ways to disappoint me. Flower Crown deserves better than the likes of you.”

**”The ͢onl̶y̨ ̵th̡i҉ngs ̧tha̕t a͘r͠é st̴ǫppin͏g ͞me fr͘om̨ ͟ki͢ll̢i̵nģ y̛ou̵ ̧a͏r̵è C̵e͠lin̴ȩ,̴ and ̡D͢am̢i͞en҉.͞ ̧Yo͏u̢ ár̢e ͜on͏ ̷t́hin̸ ̨i̶c͡e, Y/N. T̀his ͝wơn’t̵ ̵b̧e̶ t͝he͏ ̡l͘as͞t y̧ou͞’ll͝ se̢e͟ of ͏me.̛”**

  


You woke up instantly in a cold sweat. Whatever you had gotten yourself into was not going to be easy to get out of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you see that plot twist coming?


	11. We Owe It to Disaster, to the Black Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You’re starting to realize that **y̕o͘u ͜s̨h̢̧ò͞u̶̢͘l̷͟d͜n͢’̴t̀͠ ̨̛h̷a͘v͏͟͟e̶͡͝ ͏̵͠ḑ̸òn̛̛e̶ ̵̢͜t͜h̨͡a͘t̷͡҉.̛͜͞**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back at college taking a couple of classes so sorry about the chapter being late this week.

At PAX West, you were an anxiety riddled mess. Dark’s threat lingered at the back of your mind the entire time. If he could delete people from existence, who’s to say that he wouldn’t do it to you or your friends. You definitely weren’t going to tell Ethan and Lili about it because you were terrified and you didn’t want to scare them.

Your cellphone rang and you answered it, “Hello?”

”Hey Y/N, I was wondering if we could hang out on the convention floor today since it’s the last day of PAX.”

You recognized the voice immediately as Seán’s, and remembered that you had exchanged phone numbers yesterday. You replied, “That would be great. Sorry if I’ve seemed out of it the past couple of days, I kinda have been having this recurring nightmare. I blame the hotel room number I’m staying at.”

”Would it be okay if I met you outside your door?”

”Yeah, did I tell you the number yesterday?”

”It’s pretty hard to forget **66̸6̨,** Y/N.”

Your phone glitched as it forcefully ended the call and shut off. You wanted to scream at Darkiplier again for interfering with parts of your life. You just wanted to be free to live your life with your friends without having to worry about them being deleted from existence and your memory, like Signe had been. **_?ti si ,riaf ton s’tI_**

You hurriedly put on some makeup and brushed your teeth, before there was a knock at the door. You rushed from the bathroom to open the door. 

Seán waved, and for a moment you almost thought you saw someone standing behind him. He placed his hand behind his neck as he said, “I’m sorry, my phone glitched out mid-call, and ended the call.”

”It’s fine. My phone did the same thing. I thought you were going to hate me for being rude.” You laughed a little nervously about that.

”I don’t think I’d hate you over something that you couldn’t control.” You noticed that he seemed to be blushing a bit.

You felt really fucking guilty about Seán, and you wondered if he would be as kind if he had known about what Darkiplier had done for your sake. You noticed tears falling from your eyes.

”Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Y/N. Is there anything I could do to help?”

You replied, “Sorry, I thought about the nightmare again.”

”Do you want to talk about it before we go to the convention? Like you don’t have to, if you’re not comfortable, Y/N.” Seán was extremely patient with you. 

You shrugged, at this point what did you have to lose besides your soul. You sighed, “In the dream, I see my ex-boyfriend but he’s a demon that I apparently sold my soul too. He breaks up with me and tells me about the awful things that he’s done, which include cheating on me and killing someone.”

”Ouch.”

”I haven’t even gotten to the creepy shit yet. I punched him in the face **ssob ҉a̸ eki͝l** for being a shitty person—“

”I’m sorry for interrupting you, Y/N, but what did you say after you punched your ex in the face? It sounded like backwards speaking.”

You looked at your hands. How long did you have left before the glitching would get so bad that you wouldn’t be able to function in this plane of existence?

You spoke, a little more worriedly than you had intended, “I meant to say that I punched him in the face like a boss. But anyway I punched him and he just glitched and froze in this broken position, and he became this eldritch abomination made of shadows that could shapeshift at will. He also said that he followed me across the multiverse after encountering me in a past life. It was really trippy. Also he said that this wouldn’t be the last I’d hear from him.”

Seán seemed to be deep in thought for a moment before he asked in a hushed voice full of concern, “I know this is a touchy subject but before he abandoned you, did he hurt you in any way, Y/N?”

”Physically, not on terms we both didn’t agree on; emotionally and verbally, a few times, when he yelled about stuff not going according to his plans. I know it’s going to sound really ridiculous, but there was this anger that was underneath it that frightened me because of my shitty family. I don’t really like opening that wound so I wasn’t really comfortable talking about it with him except for one time,” you looked down before continuing, “Could we please talk about something else? Like something lighthearted? Like music? Or anything else?”

”Sure! Let’s talk about what you wanna see at PAX today.” 

You headed out of the hotel room, with some essentials, and locked the door. You smiled as you walked with Seán, “I wanna check out some more VR games and maybe see if there’s any games that are more story based, like an RPG.”

”So are you excited for Heartbound, Y/N?”

”Jack, you have no fricking clue. If I could, I would **lu͢os ym ͘l͜le͠s** for a chance to play it. If it’s as half as good as Undertale, it’s going to be awesome.” As you said it, you felt weird almost like the same staticky source had started to replace the space where your soul had been. You tried to shake it off but the feeling clung. Out of all times, why did _it_ decide to attach itself to you now?

”Same, Y/N. I felt really sorry about Baron though he didn’t ask for what happened to him.”

”Also Lore has a lot of shit going on from the demo alone, like he has the alter ego and he lost his dog, Baron. Like to lose your only friend and support system would suck ass, thankfully that hasn’t happened to me. I just want to see Lore prosper because he doesn’t deserve to suffer.”

Seán hugged you for a brief moment as you both waited for the elevator.

You thought for a moment before you spoke, “Jack, I know it’s going to sound fucking nuts, but I don’t think Antisepticeye is all evil.”

Seán looked at you with a quizzical expression as he asked, “Really? Why do you say that?”

You focused on keeping yourself calm and what connected you to _this_ plane. “No one wants to burn the world, unless they’ve felt rejected by it.”

_No one willing sells their soul, if they’re not feeling vulnerable and desperate enough to get out of a shitty situation._

You hoped he understood what you said. You were not going to say that you heard those words from Anti, himself, but it was still something for Seán to think about.

The rest of the day went by way too fast, though you enjoyed every moment of it. You felt like you lost details of it, clearly a sign of _something_ or _someone_ fucking up the time stream or something along those lines.

”Y/N, are you there?”

You blinked a bit at Seán’s question, “Yeah. Sorry, I’m a bit of a space cadet.” You paused before joking, “Stupid Bethesda brain needs to come back to Earth.”

Seán laughed a bit and said, “I hope we hang out more when I go to L.A. this week after we film that thing for Ethan and Mark.”

 _ **?kcuf eht inaN**_ It felt odd and unnatural, like you had no recollection of planning to film a project with Ethan and Seán. If Seán had plane tickets to go to L.A., then this project would have had months in preparation. If Darkiplier could mess with the very fabric of reality by deleting people and rearranging things, this is definitely **tlu̴àf͟ sįh.**

”Yeah, it’ll definitely be cool to hang out some more, especially since we don’t get to really hang out that often.”

All you could do was be quiet and observe your surroundings. You knew that no one was going to hold your hand and guide you through this situation, if you broke down now. Holding it in was not healthy, but who would believe you.

”Exactly, Y/N! Maybe you could show me some of your favorite hangouts in L.A.”

You looked at him and wondered how he felt about you. You smiled a bit to hide the fact that something was causing your anxiety issues to act up. You felt disconnected from your body as you said, “Ok, but keep in mind, I haven’t lived in L.A. that long. My idea of treating myself is pretty much going to In-N-Out and ordering off the secret menu. I don’t even know any good places to play laser tag, glo-golf, or bowling, but I could probably find something.” You smiled again for reassurance.

”That sounds like a good plan.”

Seán didn’t seem to notice how worried you were through your mask. You didn’t want him to worry about you too much, especially if it involved the condition of your soul or anything involving **MI̡H̛.**

”Hey, Y/N? Would it be okay if we took a selfie together, like last time? We’re in another elevator..”

You laughed a little bit, “Sure. You could tag me this time even; I’m safe now, pretty much.”

You both recreated poses that were in the Antisepticeye cosplay photograph. After Seán had taken a few shots of you two, he showed you the pictures.

”That’s weird, and lowkey terrifying.” He was referring to the glitched out copy of the photograph. You were grayscale in the photograph, and your eyes were all white. Seán had some glitches around him as well, but you were the victim of most of the glitches.

You laughed a bit nervously, and added, “I guess I sold my soul to an actual demon. _Oh no!_ ” 

”Your dark side is showing, Y/N.” He winked as he teased you a bit.

”I think they’re more of a reflection of me rather than an evil alter-ego, kind of like a simulacrum.” You shrugged, despite the fact that you were absolutely fucking terrified.

The elevator door opened to the sixth floor and Seán walked with you to the cursed room.

”Is okay if I use the _cursed_ photo, and the one from PAX East, Y/N?”

You thought about it for a moment, “Sure, maybe use Zalgo text.”

”W҉o͟ULdn͜’T hAV̧e͝ it͟ any ̢o͘tH̶ER͞ w̶a̴y,͞ Y/N.” Seán used the same voice he used for Anti. Even though none of the effects were there, it still made you really happy to be reminded of that **hct͝i̧B ͟hc͞it̴lG̵** you were sure you’d never see again.

You waved at him as you opened your room’s door, and said your goodbyes to each other before you closed the door.

You noticed the time on your phone, and started packing your suitcase for the flight tomorrow morning. You were definitely going to follow everyone else’s lead until you figured out what exactly Darkiplier had rearranged. You decided to text Ethan.

_’Hey, Ethan, are you ready for filming the thing with Jack and Mark?’_

_’HELL YEAH : D dude, I’ve been looking forward to film the sequel to Antisepticeye vs. Darkiplier for so long!!!!’_

Well, that answered some of your questions about what Dark had rearranged. You sent Ethan a meme before you went to sleep, knowing that your last encounter with Darkiplier was going to play in your nightmare like a broken record.

**”T̀his ͝wơn’t̵ ̵b̧e̶ t͝he͏ ̡l͘as͞t y̧ou͞’ll͝ se̢e͟ of ͏me.̛”**

You woke up with a start, the TV was blasting a news channel, and your cellphone was ringing. You answered your phone, “I just woke up.”

”Y/N, did your TV turn on by itself too?” Ethan’s voice was worried and concerned.

”Yeah, why?”

”Are you paying attention to the news at all?”

”I’m barely fucking awake, dude.” You looked at the TV for a moment, noticed that a building was on fire, before you continued, “There’s a fire and billowy black smoke.”

”Dude, that’s our apartment.”

”How can you tell?”

Before he could answer, a correspondent at the scene said the name of the exact apartment complex where you lived with Ethan.

”How did we both get LA news in Seattle?”

You gulped a bit, “We’re probably going to have to tell Mark and stay over at his place, until we find another place or they rebuild.”

There was a pause, before he said, “Fuck! I’m gonna have to buy you another birthday present, Y/N.”

You sighed, “Don’t worry about it...I’m more worried about _something_ else.”

”Your ex ghost friend being pissed off at you?”

”Yeah.”

You felt a few tears running down your face. You weren’t safe anywhere; **?uoy ereW?**


	12. T͞i̕me̵’͝s͠ ̛at ͠a̢n En͢d

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You guys return to LA, with Jack and everyone.

One thing you were going to be forever grateful for was Mark’s hospitality after he offered you, Ethan, and Lili a place to stay after your old apartment burnt down. There’d be enough room for you guys to stay, even with Seán also being there for a few days for filming.

”Are you sure you’re fine with us staying with you?” Lili’s question pulled you back to the moment. You were standing next to her, Ethan, and Seán by Mark’s van. You noticed that Amy, Kathryn, and Tyler were missing from the lineup. You tensed up a bit in fear, and the static was starting to build.

”There’s more than enough room at my place, even when Amy, Kathryn, and Tyler are staying there.”

You felt the tension dissipate, but you asked, “Where are they again?”

”They’re going on a road trip from Seattle to LA, Y/N.”

_Thank goodness,_ **det̀e͏l͜ed́ to̸n.͢**

You sighed a little in relief, “I forgot about that. I’m still a bit shaken from everything.”

”That is completely understandable. You just lost the place you have been living in for a while, after you moved out from your family.” Mark placed your suitcase in the van next to Lili’s. 

”Are there any leads on what caused the fire?” Seán had been relatively quiet before he asked, so you turned to him.

Ethan sighed and shrugged, “The police are suspecting arson based on this nearby store’s security cameras. Though the footage is really bad, you couldn’t even see the suspect properly.”

You had a theory about what was behind the fire, but you weren’t going to say it out loud. To be honest, you were sick of the antics, and you wanted to be wrong.

You spent the car drive to Mark’s place looking outside the window rather than watch Ethan and Lili play Mario Kart with the TV Mark installed in the van. You got your phone out and recorded the world passing by the window, just so you could focus on something besides your thoughts.

”We’re almost there.”

You stopped recording and deleted the video from your phone.

”But I’m kicking my boyfriend’s ass at Mario Kart.”

”You’re only winning because we randomized the racing levels.”

You added to the conversation, “Ethan, Lili is a wizard at racing games.”

Lili smirked, as the car parked. You knew you were going to have to get your suitcase and get settled into a new space again.

You got your stuff out of the van all by yourself. It was more about proving a point to yourself than it was about showing off to everyone. 

”We’ll be able to buy the makeup and costume stuff before we start filming tomorrow, right?” You asked hopefully, in spite of yourself. You didn’t want to get too happy because you were **e̵r͠u̢s** that something bad was going to happen if you did.

”That’s part of the plan, Y/N! We’re going to pick up Chica too.”

You heard Lili happily squeal the word, ‘puppo’ from the van. Honestly, that was a mood you felt strongly. You smiled as you remembered a time you puppy-sat Chica, when Mark and Amy took a small vacation to the Catalina Islands. She was the best girl.

”You miss Chica-chu?”

”You still remember that nickname I gave her, Mark? Of course, I miss your dog. She’s a good girl.” You were a little bit proud that the nickname stuck.

”To be honest, I’ve used that nickname since I’ve heard you say it.”

As soon as everyone else was ready to walk to Mark’s house, you did. You reached the front door before everyone else and you saw repeating flashes of silver in front of your eyes. Occasionally between the silver flashes you saw a deep, crimson red against something white.

”Y/N! Are you okay?”

You shook your head, afraid to speak. When the flashing had stopped and you had collected your bearings, you said, “I’m better now. Just shaken.”

Everyone looked at you skeptically, but didn’t press the issue as Mark opened the door. Your jaws all dropped as you saw a sight that belonged in a horror movie. Words were written in still _fresh_ , dripping blood across a white wall.

**YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM ME, Y/N**

Everyone stood there in silent horror, doubting their own eyes. It barely felt real, and you knew who was probably responsible for this. This definitely felt _wrong_.

Before you could say anything, your ears rang so hard you tried covering them, but to no avail. Underneath the ringing, you heard Mark say, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say the culprit is—“

Mark stopped what he was saying mid-sentence. You looked up and saw Darkiplier standing at the top of the staircase. He was wearing black gloves, and from this distance you couldn’t tell if there was blood on them. Why did he have to be monochromatic?

”I’m either having a nightmare right now, or I’m hallucinating.” You heard Lili whispering.

”You guys aren’t hallucinating, unless I have been for the past year.” You said it out loud so that everyone would realize the gravity of the situation. You looked down in shame. You felt responsible for everything that had happened.

**”Did you really think you had a chance to escape when you willingly accepted the other offer I gave you?”**

As Darkiplier descended down the stairs, Seán placed his arm in front of you, in an attempt to shield you from Dark. A revelation occurred to you; didn’t the last person who tried to protect you from **MÌH̸** end up becoming a part of Darkiplier? 

You gently put Seán’s arm down as if to say, _’Please, don’t’_. You were not going to let your friends get hurt because of your mistake. You were afraid, but your need to protect your friends overwrote everything. You stepped out in front of them.

”He’s not your friend, Y/N! He’s a monster!”

Mark’s words were like an older brother warning you _a_ **e̸ţal͢ o̷o͢t ͠e͏l̶ttil**. You said, “I know. I don’t want him to hurt more people in **em͜an̶ y͡m** , Mark.”

**”There you go, Y/N. No one else has to get hurt.”**

”I call fecking gobshite on that! You cheated on Y/N and abandoned them for months. Even for demons that’s low!” You heard the anger in Seán’s voice. If only he knew about Signe, he’d probably try to fight Dark on his own. If he had any chance of winning, that’d be a sight to see.

Darkiplier chuckled in some sort of sick amusement, **”Believe me, I’m helping you free of charge, Jack.”** He smirked with a sense of smugness, as he walked toward you. **”What a predicament you’ve gotten yourself into, Y/N? Sold your soul, and torn between two worlds in the multiverse?”**

You spat with venom, and sarcasm, **”H҉ello ͟D̷ar̷kne̛s͠s, m͏ỳ _old_ f̶r̢ie̸n͜d.”** You glared at him as you felt the static grow. You were relieved you didn’t speak backwards, but you weren’t going to let him know that.

The air seemed to stagnate and your friends were frozen in their place, as if time itself had stopped. **”Now, Y/N, is that a proper way to treat someone who is offering you a choice?”**

”Did my neighbors have a choice when their apartment burned down? Did Signe choose to be deleted from this universe, Dark?” You were focusing on grounding yourself in this moment rather than the static, but you were still glaring at him.

 **”You are T͢R̵YIN͝G͘ m͠Y paTIe͟nc͠e, Y/N.”** His shell seemed to be breaking again.

”Fine, What are my **seci̴oh̴c͟**?” You despised yourself for playing his game. Yet, you didn’t want to get into another fight with him. 

**”You can stay here, let Jack fall for you, and I’ll make sure you won’t sound like a broken record again. However, I could give you your soul back, and you’ll never see me again.”**

”What choice is that? I’m taking **y̢m̵ ͏lu̧os̡** back.” You felt stupid as you said it, because there was **ĺy͞e̴tin̢i̧f͘e҉d** a catch.

Before you could protest, Darkiplier grabbed your left wrist, and forced you to go up the stairs at an unnatural speed. Your mind couldn’t keep up with where he was taking you. You felt immense pain as your body crashed against something, and you blacked out. 

  


You woke up, and stared at the bed’s canopy. It looked familiar, but yet it was dark grey. You turned to look at the wall and everything was monochromatic. You looked down at your hands, and you saw that they were like a black and white photograph.

Darkiplier was going to pay for taking away your ability to see color. You didn’t pay good money for your purple hair to be reduced to a dark gray balayage. You thankfully still had your leather jacket on. At least, that still looked the same.

You got out of bed, and you noticed an envelope that was addressed to you, placed on your nightstand. You picked it up, opened it, and read it.

_**’Mx. Y/N L/N,** _

_**I had a premonition that you would choose to take your soul back. You still feel guilty about someone who doesn’t exist anymore in this universe, and that has influenced how you interact with Jack. What a pity...** _

_**Now, if you ever want to get your soul back, you are you going to have to steal it from Flower Crown. However you’re going to have to “kill” them to get it back, or else you’ll be a corrupted reflection of what you used to be, Y/N.** _

**_I have also decided to let you have one last conversation with someone who is in Mark’s house. You can tell them what you’re about to do, or have a last goodbye with them._ **

_**Signed, Darkiplier’** _

Why did he have to be such a goddamn dick about everything? He was cruel, and most definitely a sadistic bastard. You screamed out in frustration, but then you remembered something.

The gifts that Anti, and the rest of the gang had given to you: it was still in the drawer that was by the mirror. Well, except for the candy bar that was from Wilford because you ate that months ago, but that wasn’t important. You quickly rushed over to get the gift from its hiding place. You happily rejoiced, **”!!!y̕àY͟!!͏”** as you held the gift close to you.

”Y/N? Is that you?”

You were startled by Seán’s voice, and it forced you to look into the mirror above the drawer. You saw him standing behind your reflection, but he was monochromatic except for the neon green shirt he was wearing. How the fuck did he end up in the mirror? Or maybe it was you that was stuck in one?

 **”!҉!em s’t̴i͡ ,҉s̛e͏y,͝ kc̵a҉J̷!̴”** You had placed the gift down on top of the drawer, and eagerly answered Seán’s question. You felt like you had forgotten something important.

”I’m sorry, but I don’t understand you,” you made a face before he continued, “Though I’m gonna guess that you are Y/N.”

You grinned as he correctly guessed your identity. If you could have hugged him, you would have. However, that didn’t fix the communication problem between the two of you, then you had remembered something that **A͡n̵tise̶p̛t͞ic͞e͝y͝e͘** had said about one of the gifts inside the box.

You had an idea, and you held up one finger to signify that you needed a moment. You opened the box and saw that the revolver was still there. You quickly grabbed it and it changed into what looked like a toy microphone.

You held it up to your face before you said, **”J̸a̛c̢ḱ,҉ yes͜, i͟t̵’̸s͘ réa͟lly ̡me!!̵ ͏H̀ow ̛d̵i͠d ̕y̨ou ͝g͘et͜ ͝t̕ra͘pp̷e̕d ̶i҉n a͝ mirr͡o͢r͠?̧”**

He grinned back before he said, ”Y/N, I think Darkiplier trapped you in this mirror hanging on a hallway wall. But like holy fuck, one moment you were standing in front of Darkiplier, saying a meme, and then you were gone, and everything is frozen in place. Like is time broken or something?”

You nodded, **”Da͟r̛k̕i͏p̵l҉ier͞ p͘ŗoba̵bly ͝h͟as ́the̢ ͘abíl͜i̷t͠y͝ t́o͞ w͘ar͞p͝ ͠t̕ime͟.͏ ͏T̸o̶ ̵b̶e ̵honest,̸ ͟h̸e’s҉ ͡prob̸ab͞ly ̵w͞h̨y I’ve ̀b̶ee̢n s͢u̸c̀h a s͠pa̷c̨e ca̶de̕t ̴fo̢r ̴the ̕past yea̴r ͘ơr so̵.”**

”If you ever get out of here, you could definitely use this as your evil alter ego, Y/N.”

You laughed nervously before you changed your demeanor to serious, **”Seá̶n͢, th͞er͞e̛’̢s s͢omet̷h̕ín̨g̸ ́im͠po͘rtant̨ ͠t͠hat̷ ̧I h͟áve̸ ͝t̶o̧ ͏s͜a͏y.”**

Seán looked at you before he said, “Go on, Y/N.” 

**”Whén͏ ̡w͘er͡e ͏a͡t P̨AX͢ ̀Éa̧s̀t,̀ ͠I ̢mád͢e͏ ̵s̕o̴me f̷rien̡ds ͘w̴ho w̵e̴r̵e sh͢oc̡k̴ed ̕that͡ ̡I h҉ad̡ ̛s͘old̵ my͢ ̵śoul ̢to͠ ̧D́arkiplier.͝ ̡ A͢n͡ti͘s͜e͡pt͢ic̛e̡ye̶ ͏ẃas in͠ t̴ha͜t ͢f͠riend gro̕up̕. ̷He ̶v̨ís̕it͞e͢d̡ ͠mȩ ͘onc͜e͜ af͠t͟e҉r ͝th͞e i͏ni҉tíal̶ m̸e҉eti̛n҉g,̀ ̡and ͜he gave ̀me̛ a͜ ̨gi̛ft̴.”** You paused for a moment before continuing, **”I͞t ͟wa̢s̕n’t͟ ͏j̵ust̕ An͞ti̴ ̷t́h͠a͡t͟ c̀o͢nt̶ribut͝e͡d to th͠e ҉g̢ift.̢ ͝B̢lank͢g̕a͟me͠plays̶ ẁr̴ot̕e m̷è ̸a҉ ļe̵tt͝er͘ ҉in ͠c҉ase ͘th́inģs get͠ b̷a̷d̸. I͠ ̕háv̷en͏’t͜ r͠e̸ad ͡it̕ ýe͝t̷.”**

”Well, Y/N, since time has basically been fecking frozen except for us, I’d say it’d be a good idea to read it.”

No need to be told twice; the microphone transformed into a letter opener, and you opened the envelope, carefully like a surgeon.

_’If you are reading this Y/N, you’ve come across an anomaly that I have been observing for a while. Now the time stream is stagnant, until you make a concrete decision about whether your soul is worth killing Flower Crown._

_Something important that you should know is that Flower Crown has stolen a soul from beyond the multiverse besides yours. They are evil, even for our standards._

_Another thing, the mirror needs to be destroyed: the one you are using to talk to Seán. If it doesn’t get destroyed, Darkiplier and Flower Crown have the potential of wreaking more havoc across the multiverse. They could both delete entire worlds from existence._

_signed— Blankgameplays’_

”So, Y/N, what does it say?”

As you felt the need to answer Seán’s question, the letter opener changed back into a microphone. **”You’re going to have to destroy this mirror. Shatter it, burn it; I don’t care. Regardless of whether I get out with my soul back, you need to destroy it or else Darkiplier will manipulate things and people, out of existence. He’s done it before and he needs to be stopped.”**

You looked at Seán sadly, before you tell him one last thing. You’ve made up your mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I ͡k͝now̷ exa̵ctĺy ̨wh̵a͏t I’̨M̨ ḑoin̸g͞**


End file.
